New Beginnings
by shantella1987
Summary: What happened after Tentoo and Rose were left on Bad Wolf bay? Will they both settle comfortably into a normal human life? Tentoo/Rose. WIP. NEW: Chapter 13!
1. A Fresh Start

Hello! So this is my first attempt at a multi-chapter fan fic... well... first attempt in years I should say. This is going to be a bit more serious than my previous stories too, but I'm going to try and put in some lighthearted stuff too, because let's be honest, Doctor Who really can go from serious to silly in a heartbeat.

Anyway, enough of my rambling. Please read and review.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Doctor Who. If I did there would have been a Tentoo/Rose spin-off by now even if I had to throw tonnes of money at David Tennant and Billie Piper to do it!

* * *

Rose stood and just stared at the square indent in the sand where the TARDIS was standing just moments before. It was gone. He was gone. The man she loved above all else. She promised him that she would stay with him forever. She crossed entire universes just to see him again, and she succeeded. She thought that she could finally fulfill her promise to him and that he would at last allow himself to show her just how much she knew she meant to him. She saw it on his face when he first laid eyes on her, the way he ran to her.

 _That damn Dalek._

Things suddenly had to get so complicated, and yet so very simple. Now there was two of him: one that would live to an impossible age, and one who would age with her. She chose the latter. She chose the one that could promise to be with her forever, even if it meant they both grow old and eventually die. She chose the one who wasn't afraid to say those three small but complicated words: _I love you._

She knew it to be true. She felt it in his kiss.

He walked up to her and slid his hand into hers. They fit perfectly as they always had. The only indication that anything was different was this hand was warm, before it was always so cold – a by-product of his alien nature. But this body was physically human. It was a body that would match her in terms of aging.

He could finally give her the forever she deserved.

She looked up at him. He looked down at her with those deep brown eyes that she fell in love with. He looked just like him. Well, of course he did. He was a clone, a duplicate, a copy.

No.

Rose shoved those thoughts aside. It didn't matter how he came into existence. All that mattered is that she was with him. She was with the Doctor. So far, he hadn't done anything to make her feel he was anyone else.

Except there was one thing the original Doctor said.

" _He destroyed the Daleks, he committed genocide. He's too dangerous to be left on his own."_

But Rose herself destroyed an entire Dalek fleet including the Emperor. Bad Wolf or not, she would gladly do it again to keep the Doctor safe. And he accepted her after she did it. She even suspected that this was around the same time his feelings towards her blossomed beyond just being friends.

" _You were born in battle, full of anger and blood and revenge."_

He practically spat those words at the Human Doctor. But then he had cast a kinder look towards Rose.

" _Remind you of someone? That's me when we first met. And you made me better."_

Rose had watched how the Doctor turned from being a bitter, old warrior into a kind and gentle man. He showed her a better way of living. She showed him kindness, even when he thought he didn't deserve it. Together they made themselves better people. If she had to start at square one all over again, so be it. She already knows the kind of man he's capable of being, and if he really has all of the original Doctor's memories then he knows she'll never give up on him. It would be different this time around without the TARDIS, but with an entire new Earth to explore and only one life to do it with, she was certain they would manage.

There was something else that lingered in her mind and it was breaking her heart wide open.

"He didn't say goodbye…" She said looking back at the empty sand, her voice a mere shaky whisper. With a heavy sigh he shrugged and gripped her hand tighter.

"He hates saying it. Does whatever he can to avoid it, really. It's too heartbreaking. And for someone with two hearts that's saying something." He chuckled humorlessly and pulled her closer to him, letting go of her hand and wrapping his arm tight around her shoulder. For whatever reason, this small act on his part shattered all her emotional defenses. All the tears she was holding back where fully unleashed. He bundled her close to his chest, letting her just cry into his shoulder. "But Rose, listen: _I_ don't ever have to say it. Not ever." He whispered into her hair and planted a gentle kiss on the top of her head before ducking down and resting his forehead on hers. He reached out and gently brushed her cheeks with his thumbs, wiping her tears away. "I love you. I've loved you for even longer than you may know."

"Even when you were all ears and leather?" Rose chuckled through her remaining tears as found herself getting lost in his gaze. His face broke out into that wide grin that always managed to melt her insides.

"Oh yes!" He playfully kissed the tip of her nose causing another giggle to bubble out of Rose before he dropped back into a more sombre mood. "I'm so sorry I never told you before today. There were so many times I wanted to but… well… you know." Rose nodded knowing what he was getting at.

"It's okay. You have no idea how many times I wanted to tell you myself." This revelation caused him to smile again.

"And then you did. And that…" his voice hitched, and he needed to draw a shaky breath before continuing. "And that is what kept me fighting when I felt like I lost everything. And I did. I lost _you._ Oh sure, I had the TARDIS. Martha and Donna were good company. Even if Martha fancied me and if it weren't for Donna, well, I'd never even exist…" caught himself rambling and took another deep breath as he reached out and cupped her face with his hands. "But none of them even held a candle to you." Rose breathed his name feeling the pads of his fingers trace her jawline as he pulled her in for another kiss. She wrapped her arms around his thin frame as she felt the world disappear around them. He poured all the love he had for her into the kiss and she responded in kind. For a long moment they were the only two people in the entire universe. Two hearts beating as one, just as it should be.

But then, everything has to end sometime.

"Oi, you two! You can snog all you like later! Can we just get home now please? It's bloody freezing on this beach!" Jackie's timing was just impeccable. The Doctor successfully tramped down the urge to release that little bit Donna left behind in him and shout 'Oi! Shut it blondie I'm having a moment here!' in Jackie's general direction as he pulled away from Rose. But one word she said washed over him bringing up an emotion he didn't quite know how to describe.

"C-can you say that again?" He asked Jackie.

"Well, I was just sayin' that there's a time and a place for that kind of thing. I mean I know you two…"

"No," He interrupted her with a wave of his hand. "I meant, where are we going?"

"Home." Jackie said simply a small smile on her lips. The Doctor swallowed heavily around the lump in his throat, fresh tears pooling in his eyes. He already came to the realisation that the slow path would be filled with doors, carpets and windows… all that domestic stuff that his full Time Lord self scoffed at. But to hear the word out loud and applying to his life hit him harder than he thought it would.

"Rose… we're going…" He couldn't get out the last word. He didn't even realise that he had even started crying. "We're going _home!_ " He finally exclaimed breaking out into the widest grin ever happy tears streaking his thin cheeks. He picked Rose up and spun her in the air a couple of times, laughing at the cute noises she made when she was surprised, before setting her down and hugging her tight. He looked over at Jackie knowing that she would be a big part of this new adventure and reached his arm out to her while still maintaining his grip on Rose. Jackie ran over without hesitation and threw her arms around him and her daughter. The three of them held on to each other for a long moment before breaking away slowly. The Doctor calmed himself slightly, but the thought that these two were his home and family warmed his heart (singular, he still had to tell himself) without measure.

"Alright," He took a steadying breath before continuing. "Let's go home. _Allons-y!_ "

"Alan's… what?" Jackie asked scrunching her nose.

"Never mind…"

Rose only giggled.

* * *

They had to walk a fair distance from where the TARDIS had landed before Jackie was able to get a signal strong enough on her mobile. The teleports no longer worked. Rose's phone had unfortunately shorted out during her last trip through the dimension cannon. The Doctor had muttered something about wishing he had swiped the Sonic Screwdriver. Jackie got through to Torchwood in the end, briefly explaining how they got back and the whole Metacrisis situation as best she could. Within an hour Pete had sent out a team to bring them back to London. The Doctor could barely reign in his excitement that he was truly going home. He couldn't wait to meet Rose's little brother, Tony, especially after all the stories Jackie told him while waiting for Torchwood to arrive. He was even curious to see how this organisation functioned under Pete Tyler's command. But most of all, he couldn't wait to just spend some time alone with Rose. As soon as they arrived in London he was going to see if that little chip shop she took him to after their adventure on Platform One existed in this universe, and if it did that was going to (once again) be their first date.

The helicopters approached and they waved them down. Rose felt it odd they sent more than one. As they got closer, she realised one was a medical transport. Why would they need one of those? They hadn't reported any injuries so why-?

Rose couldn't even register that thought fully as she watched the Doctor's hand fly up to the side of his neck as he suddenly cried out in pain. He managed to pull a dart out of his skin and he momentarily looked at it in confusion. Then it seemed to dawn on him what was going on.

"Oh, you are _kidding_ me…" his eyes rolled back into his head as he unceremoniously collapsed face first into the sand. Rose threw herself onto her knees after him screaming his name. Jackie started screaming at the Torchwood agents pouring out of the medical transport with a gurney. One forcefully grabbed Rose and pulled her away from the unconscious Doctor as they started to move him onto the waiting transport.

"The hell are you doin' to him!? Let me go!" Rose tried to wriggle out of the grasp of the burley agent. She slipped into what had been dubbed her 'commander mode' as she spoke to the man who was roughly handling her: "I order you to release both me and the Doctor! You hear me? If you won't you're fired!"

"Sorry, Rose, but this is for his own good." Rose snapped her head around and saw that Pete had arrived as well. She calmed slightly and it was enough for Pete to wave off the agent holding her.

"How is drugging him and dragging him away against his will in any way 'good'?" Rose was livid. Pete sighed.

"Jackie explained it to me. He's a brand new form of life and should be checked medically to ensure he's healthy." Pete explained as kindly as he could. "Don't blame your mum, this was my decision."

"But Pete, you didn't need to knock him out to do it…" Rose looked over and shuddered as she watched the medical team fit an oxygen mask over the Doctor's face and insert an IV into his arm. Pete placed a hand on her shoulder.

"The other Doctor was so unpredictable and I gather this one's the same way. We needed to ensure his cooperation."

"You didn't even give him a chance!" Rose was screaming now. Pete just shook his head. "I'll never forgive you for this! He won't either!" Rose was shaking with anger at her adopted father. Jackie walked up and wrapped her arm around her.

"C'mon love. You should ride with him. You should be there when he wakes up." Jackie glared at Pete as she guided Rose towards the medical transport. Rose climbed aboard and sat as close to the Doctor was possible, not caring she was in the way of the medical staff.

She held his hand all the way to London.


	2. Realisations

Bit of a shorter chapter I'm afraid. But don't worry, the next one is longer.

* * *

It was the sound of a beating heart that came to him first in the darkness.

 _Uh oh, the right one's stopped beating. I need to get that one started again!_

He started concentrating on the rhythm.

 _The left one seems a bit slow. Why's it beating so slowly?_

He tried to breathe in using his respiratory bypass to reduce any stress on his lungs in case they were injured. He ended up gasping for air instead.

 _Well… that's never happened before…_

"It's okay Doctor. I'm here. Just stay calm." It was Rose's voice. He could feel her one of her hands wrapped around his and the fingers of her other hand drifting through his hair. But how could he stay calm when one of his hearts had failed and his respiratory bypass was suddenly non-existent? He also couldn't get his eyes open. They felt so heavy.

"I gotta… gotta get…" He managed to talk, his voice weak and slurred. The fingers that were in his hair came to rest gently on his lips.

"Shh… don't try and talk just yet." She sounded scared. The situation must be far worse than he thought.

"Gotta get… the other… heart started…" He wrenched his eyes open. The lights surrounding him were blinding and there was a pink and yellow blur off to his side. He focused on the blur and it slowly resolved into the shape of Rose Tyler. She looked tired; her face was lined with worry. "Rose, only one of my hearts is beating." His words were more coherent, but his mind still felt heavy. She squeezed his hand a bit more.

"There's a reason for that. Think." He closed his eyes, and could feel Rose's fingers running through his hair again. He concentrated a moment and then all the memories of the past day came flooding back.

He remembered Rose running through the deserted street to reunite with him.

He remembered getting shot by that stupid Dalek.

He remembered regenerating, but keeping the same face.

He remembered arriving at the Dalek Crucible with Rose, Jack and Donna.

He remembered the look on Donna's face once she realised he was sitting on the floor of the TARDIS completely naked.

His eyes shot open.

He remembered the Metacrisis!

He moved his free hand over to the left side of his chest to cover his singular heart, but in doing so he noticed the electrodes and wires attached to his chest and the clear tube stuck into his arm. His eyes traced these objects to the monitors and IV bags they were attached to.

"Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"Why am I in the hospital?" He couldn't keep the nervous squeak out of his voice as he turned to look at her. "Am I ill?" Rose shook her head.

"You're in Torchwood," she corrected him, "And no, you're not ill."

"Then what am I doing here? And _how_ did I get here?" Rose bit her lip as she thought how to properly answer him. He found the bed controls and adjusted them so he was in a more seated position. Staring at the ceiling was getting boring.

"Well, you're basically a newborn, even if you look like a full grown man." He laughed lightly at her explanation.

"Yeah, you don't see too many babies with sideburns now do you?" He mused out loud, giving her a cheeky grin. She playfully smacked his cheek, absently letting her fingers stroke his trademark facial hair. He leaned into her touch slightly as he felt his face flush a little.

"Nah. They're much cuter than you." And there was that tongue in teeth smile he missed oh so much.

"Oi!" He practically shouted in mock indignation.

"Sorry. Anyways, since you technically qualify as a brand new lifeform, Torchwood just wanted to make sure you were healthy." He nodded.

"Okay, makes sense. Better to be safe I suppose. But why was I unconscious? I honestly don't remember how…" His hand absently went to the side of his neck. "Oh, Rassilon! They drugged me, didn't they? They drugged me and dragged me away without my consent." Rose nodded. She watched as his face contorted into a dark expression. He was transforming into the Oncoming Storm right before her eyes. "Typical. Bloody typical! I should've known that Torchwood would remain the same. _If it's alien it's ours!_ " He mimicked Yvonne Hartman's voice in a harsh mocking manner. Rose shuddered at the memory. That was a day she tried very hard not to think about. "Did you know they were going to do this?" He hit her with a hard accusatory glare that made Rose want to back up a few paces. She held her ground however and shook her head.

"This was all Pete's doing." He noted how Rose didn't call him 'Dad', "When he met you before he thought you were unpredictable, thought you'd say no to coming here." The Doctor made a noise resembling a growl as he flung the bedsheets off of him and moved to get off the bed. He pulled all the electrodes off his chest and his fingers gripped the IV line, ready to tear it out of his flesh, but he was stopped by Rose clamping her hand over his.

"I swear to you: I didn't know." His eyes met hers once more. He searched them for a moment and knew that she was telling him the truth.

"How? How can you work for this place?" His voice was quieter, but still hard. Rose broke eye contact with them and examined her shoes like they were the most interesting things in the universe.

"I only worked here because I felt like it was the only way I could get back to you. But defending the Earth felt so hollow without you at my side." She felt the Doctor's hands grip her shoulders and she looked back at him. His eyes had begun glistening with unshed tears.

"Oh Rose…" He started but she interrupted him with a wave of her hand.

"I began to hate working here, but I kept at it because I had hope that I would find you again. The way they dragged you here… the only other times I've seen them do that is when we were dealing with criminals. That's why I can't… I can't do this anymore. I got what I needed out of this place." She took his face in her hands. "I got _you_ back. I don't need Torchwood if I've got you." He pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.

"Did I mention that I love you?" He murmured into her ear.

"I think it came up in conversation, yes." She giggled as she rested her hands on his chest. He suddenly jerked back once he realised that her fingers were touching bare skin. He flushed furiously noticing that he was dressed only in a flimsy hospital gown. This was almost worse when he woke up wearing Jackie's boyfriend's pyjamas. Rose found his embarrassment adorable and she shot his favourite grin at him.

"Rose… what happened to my suit?"


	3. Power of a Name

As the day wore on, he was seen by more Doctors. He even consented to a brain scan once he was convinced that it wasn't going to wipe his mind. They've used that equipment on aliens before. In the end they concluded that he was indeed healthy, even if they couldn't make heads or tails of his brain scan. He still had the brain of a Time Lord, just the body of a human. His reflexes were also slightly faster than an average human. He gloated a little when the optometrist determined he did need glasses for reading. ("You thought I was just showing off, didn't you Rose Tyler?")

He was discharged from the medical ward and he was given some plain looking clothes to wear out as his blue suit and burgundy trainers were thrown out. This unnerved him more than he let on. Those were his last pieces of his identity he had left and they were just chucked in the bin. He tried to reason that he could start fresh… but damn. He was going to miss those trainers. He prayed Converse existed in this universe too. But anything he wore now was better than that hospital gown.

He had asked, well, _demanded_ that he could talk to Pete Tyler. He was still livid at him at the way he dragged him to Torchwood. But the only answer he got from his secretary was "he will see you later at the manor." He inwardly shuddered at the thought that he may have to live under the same roof as that man for a while. He needed to settle this and soon.

In the meantime, Rose guided him down to the legal department and into an empty office explaining that there were some forms he needed to fill out before he could start his new Human life properly. The one thing they needed first was a name. He knew he'd always consider himself to be the Doctor, despite whatever else people would call him. He smiled cheekily knowing _exactly_ the name he would use. It was the one he always used when he needed to pretend he was human, but he felt that he should add something in memory of the person who made his existence possible. He sighed heavily realising that she may never remember him. He had a strong feeling he know what the original Doctor did to save Donna's life. In handwriting that few found legible, he scrawled:

 _Dr. Johnathan Noble-Smith._

Rose rolled her eyes in mock-exasperation noticing what he just wrote.

"John Smith? Really? You couldn't choose something like 'David' or 'Matthew'? Something more, I dunno… _original_?" She sighed. He shook his head.

"Nah! I like it! Besides what kind of stupid name is 'Matthew Smith' anyways? Seriously who names their kid that?" She cast him a long-suffering glare. "I'm being rude again, aren't I?" Rose smiled.

"Some things never change… _John._ " She tested out his chosen name and scrunched her nose. "Nah, I'm never going to get used to that."

"Oi, now who's bein' rude?" He poked her shoulder playfully. She laughed.

"It's just…" She took his hands into hers and smiled at him. "You'll always be the Doctor to me." He smiled at her warmly. His heart beat harder in his chest as he made a decision. He needed to tell her something that he hadn't told anyone in centuries.

" _That_ isn't even my name." He said quietly. Rose nodded.

"I know. Nine centuries in and you're still coping." She chuckled. He couldn't help but grin as he recognised those words. But his smiled disappeared as he continued.

"I do have a name, but when I left Gallifrey it became too dangerous to use. Not even Susan, my granddaughter, knew it." He could hear his own voice cracking with emotion. "I choose a title over a name. Less painful that way, because the last time I told anyone my name was on my wedding day. And now she… my entire family…" His voice hitched as Rose pulled him into a hug. She realised that any memories of the Time War were painful for him, and now he was telling her more personal details she never dared ask about before.

"I'm sorry." Was all she could think to say. He held onto her like a lifeline as the raw emotion just poured out of him. He never bared his emotions like this, and was almost embarrassed that they were just tumbling out of him now. But this new Human body seemed to come fully equipped with almost uncontrollable Human emotions. It also didn't help that he picked up a bit of Donna's personality during the Metacrisis. He focused on his breathing and allowed himself to be comforted by the feeling of Rose's arms around him; her hands rubbing small circles into his back and shoulders. He released the death grip he realised he was applying to her shoulders and pulled her into a more gentle hug. He was able to steady himself after a long moment and pulled away far enough to look into Rose's eyes.

"Rose, you're the only woman I've truly loved since I lost her and my family. And that's why I need to tell you something. But I can't just say it out loud." He held up his hands, his fingers hovering over her temples. "Do you trust me? Time Lord Telepathy can be a little… well… intimate." She smiled at him cheekily.

"And here I thought you wanted to take things slowly." She teased. His face turned crimson.

"I – I didn't mean intimate in _that_ sense. All I was trying to say is that this kind of communication is just more… well… ah…" He stammered at a complete loss for words. He also didn't quite know what to do with his hands other than shove them through his already messy hair.

"I know what you meant." Rose gave him his favourite smile and a quick peck on the cheek. "I just missed riling you up. You're so cute when you're embarrassed."

" _Cute?_ " He squeaked. She nodded. "Rose Tyler, you are such a brat. I knew there was a reason I fell for you." He finally cracked a smile as he raised his fingers back up to her temples. "Now I'll ask you again: do you trust me?"

"You know I trust you with my life." She said without hesitation. He smiled and nodded as he pressed his fingers to her temples.

"Close your eyes." He instructed and she complied. The world seemed to spin around them for a moment and Rose felt herself becoming dizzy. "You're alright." She heard the Doctor's voice inside her head. "This will pass in a moment. Just stay with me. Concentrate on my voice. You're doing fine." She let his voice wash over her, and it was almost like he was enveloping her in a warm blanket. The dizziness passed just like he said it would. "Okay now… open your eyes." Her eyes blinked open. She gasped realising where she was standing. It was the TARDIS.

"But, how?" She stammered. She saw him standing on the far side of the console, dressed once again in his blue suit and red trainers.

"You're inside my mind." He explained gently. "Not quite as dark and scary in here as you thought, eh?"

"Does it always look like this?" She asked a hint of laughter in her voice.

"Not always. Sometimes it looks like this." The TARDIS faded away and they were now standing in a field of bright red grass. She spotted several trees with silver leaves nearby. In the distance she saw a vast city encased in a giant glass dome. The view took her breath away. He sidled up beside her and wrapped his arm around her. "Welcome to Gallifrey."

"It's beautiful." She breathed. He shrugged.

"Beautiful to look at. But regardless, this is… was my home." Rose nodded. She remembered him telling her about how corrupt the Time Lords became and why he felt compelled to leave. She then spotted movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned watched a group of men climb up the hill.

The first one was a withered old man dressed in a sharp suit. He walked with a cane. He locked eyes with her a moment and smiled sagely at her before walking on by.

The second man looked a bit younger. His clothes looked far too big on him and his dark hair reminded Rose of Mo from The Three Stooges. He grinned at her as he pulled a recorder out of his pocket and played a little tune as he walked on by.

The next man was tall and dressed in a luxuriant looking velvet coat. His curly hair was once again white. He walked with purpose. He nodded at Rose and bowed his head with a slight smile on his face before striding away.

The fourth man was just odd. He too had curly hair, but it was such a mess under a floppy hat. He wore the longest scarf Rose had ever seen in her life. He smiled at her with a mouth that seemed to have more teeth than was physically possible. He bounded over with a small paper bag in his hand and offered her to take what was inside. She did so timidly and laughed when she pulled out a Jelly Baby. He smiled again at her and bounded away to join the other men. She thoroughly enjoyed the sweet.

The next one was a young man with blonde hair. His beige and orange clothing made him look like he was at home on a cricket pitch, but he had a stick of celery pinned proudly to his lapel. He smiled and tipped his hat at her as he walked by.

Number six was dressed in the most ridiculous suit she ever saw in her life. It was a clash of colours all stitched together with a cat pin attached to his lapel. "It was a weird phase." Rose heard the Doctor sigh beside her. The man in the technicolour suit smiled and nodded towards Rose and kept on walking.

The next man was shorter and more round in the middle. His jumper was covered with question marks and he carried an umbrella that shared that same shape on its red handle. He waived at her with his umbrella with a smile. He too kept on walking.

The next one was once again young. He had long curly hair that reached his shoulders and was dressed in 19th Century attire. He looked towards Rose with sleepy looking eyes and a gentle smile. He waived at her and kept walking.

Rose had begun to wonder what was up with this parade of strange men, until she saw the next one cross into her line of vision. She immediately recognised the leather coat, the close cropped hair, the prominent ears and the piercing blue eyes. Her hands flung to her mouth as a gasp escaped her lips.

"They're all _you_!" She breathed. The Doctor beside her smiled and nodded.

"Yup." He said, popping the 'p'. "All me." He grinned cheekily. As if to prove his point, a tenth man walked over the crest of the hill. He was all spiky hair, pinstripes and sandshoes. It was the Doctor that left them on Bad Wolf bay. He smiled warmly at Rose and winked at her before walking on by. Rose felt an almost overwhelming urge to run after him and just cling to him for dear life. But words from earlier that day drifted through her mind.

" _It's still not right. The Doctor's still_ you _!"_

" _And I'm him."_

Rose smiled, realising what he was doing. He was showing her every aspect of himself. He would always be the Doctor at heart.

"And we all share one thing in common." He spoke as if reading her mind and continuing her internal dialogue. She found herself gaping at him. "Don't look at me like that. I can see right into your mind when we're linked like this." The landscape shifted again. Rose now found herself lying on a blanket staring up at a starry sky. He must have been able to read her mind as she was just thinking about how they had done this so many times before on so many different worlds. The Doctor lay beside her his arms resting comfortably behind his head and his feet crossed at the ankles. But now they were inside his mind and the sky looked more beautiful than any real sky she'd ever seen before.

"Now, Rose. I want you to understand that this isn't something I tell just anyone. They have to be truly special." He reached for her hand, and she took it. "Now, watch the sky." The stars started dancing around in the sky and slowly a swirling pattern appeared. Rose began to realise that it was Gallifreyan writing. She gasped when it occurred to her that she could actually understand it. It was a word that was so beautiful it brought tears to her eyes. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked down at the Doctor.

"You're name is…" She couldn't get the end of that sentence out as he quickly grabbed her and pressed his lips to hers. She was stunned for a moment, but then found herself eagerly kissing him back. They pulled away after a long moment and Rose saw that they were back in the Torchwood office and that kiss was more than just in their heads.

"Yes, that's my name. My _true_ name. It's my gift to you." He reached out and tucked a piece of Rose's hair back behind her ear and let his hand linger on the side of her neck. She smiled brightly at him.

"So you're really called…" He interrupted her with another kiss as it was quickly becoming his favourite way of keeping her quiet (and just one of his favourite things to do in general). He felt her smile and chuckle against his lips. He took that to mean that she got the message and with some reluctance he broke the kiss.

"Names are powerful things." He whispered resting his forehead against hers and gazing into her eyes. "Who knows what could happen if mine fell into the wrong hands, even in this universe. Now promise me you'll never say it out loud." She nodded, and he enveloped her in a warm hug.

"So, I'm really the only person you told in all this time?" She murmured against his shoulder.

"The only one _I've_ told, but…" She drew away from him and saw that he had his brooding face on.

"But… what?" Rose prodded getting slightly worried. The Doctor sighed heavily before continuing to speak. He told her about traveling to The Library with Donna and how they met the mysterious River Song. He told her just how freaked out he was when River acted like she had known him for a lifetime despite the fact that he just met her and when she whispered his name into his ear to gain his trust. He even seemed to get visibly upset when he spoke about how she sacrificed herself to keep him safe.

"I suppose I did save her life in the end, though. I apparently gave her my screwdriver in the future and I found a way to store a backup of her consciousness in the library's computer." He said as he wound up the story.

"Maybe it's for the best." Rose said softly.

"What do you mean?" The Doctor asked. "How can it be for the best that I left her to exist forever inside a computer mainframe? What kind of life is _that_?"

Rose shook her head.

"I mean, you obviously met her in the wrong order." Rose reached for his hand and he took it. "I have you, but he only has Donna…"

"He doesn't even have her anymore." Rose looked at him with confused eyes. "There was no way she could survive being the Doctor-Donna. A Time Lord consciousness is too much for a human mind. He would have had to wipe her memory of anything we did together to keep her alive. He basically killed her." Rose pulled him into a hug. "She was my best friend, and now he's alone. He'll never admit it, but he just can't handle being alone."

"And you can admit that?"

His arms tightened around her.

"Rose, I would be devastated if I lost you again. He and I have the same feelings. So if I can't handle being alone…"

"And that's what I'm trying to say. He's not going to be alone forever. He's going to properly meet River, and they'll have a life together. And that makes me happy. I can't bear the thought of him being alone."

"You still love him." He made it a statement and not a question. She nuzzled his neck and smiled.

"I love both of you."

He smiled.

"Quite right too."

* * *

See, told you this chapter would be longer. Just want to say sorry to any Matt Smith fans out there, I just could not resist that little joke at his expense.


	4. Terribly Domestic

**Sorry for the delay in uploading. My work schedule doesn't really allow for a consistent uploading schedule. I have the next few chapters outlined in my head so hopefully they will be out shortly. More actual plot is planned.**

 **I'm not 100% happy with this chapter, but it's been reworked so many times already so I hope it's still enjoyable. Please leave a review if you like it.**

* * *

It was well into the night when they finally arrived at the Tyler manor. The Doctor and Rose were both practically asleep when their car pulled into the driveway. The adrenaline of the past day had cleared their systems and they were both exhausted both physically and emotionally. The Doctor gazed at the house as flashbacks of the Cyberman invasion filtered through his memory. He stifled a shudder realising that this is where this universe's Jackie met her end along with so many others. He felt Rose's hand close around his.

"Welcome home." She tried to sound cheerful despite her exhaustion. She expected him to give her one of his manic grins, but the only response she got was a sigh and a nod. "You alright? Thought you were excited about coming home?"

 _Home._

There was that word again. He squeezed Rose's hand and nodded.

"It just… doesn't feel real yet." He admitted. "I mean, the last time we were here, we were bein' chased by Cybermen and now it's my home. My same size on the inside than it is on the outside home." He gave her a tired smile before stepping out of the car. Rose quickly followed him and hugged his arm as they walked up to the house.

"At least you don't need psychic paper to get in this time." Rose grinned at him and he laughed.

Jackie met them at the door and enveloped them both in motherly hugs as she brought them into the house.

"Is Pete here? I really need to speak with him." The Doctor asked when Jackie finally released him. She shook her head.

"Sorry, Love. He hasn't come home yet. I reckon he's workin' late." He nodded. He really wanted to confront the man, but in his half-asleep state he wasn't sure how far he'd get.

He yawned and suddenly clamped his hand over his mouth. He had never done that before. This new human body was just full of surprises. He also couldn't believe how tired he was. Before he could go days, even weeks without needing sleep, now a single day wore him out. His body surprised him again when his stomach made a strange gurgling sound. Was he hungry? Or was it just indigestion? It was hard to tell. This new body was giving him so many new sensations it was hard to figure them out. He tried to think about the last time he had a proper meal. There was the small sandwich they gave him at Torchwood that was so gross he only took a few tiny bites of it before throwing it out. Before that it was chips with Donna, before the Human version of him even existed.

"You must be starving." Jackie sighed taking another good look at the two of them. The Doctor blinked.

"Yeah, a bit… how did you know?" Jackie just chuckled at that.

"Mother's intuition." She said simply. "Now c'mon, you two. I saved some dinner just for you."

Jackie escorted them into the kitchen instead of the large dining room further emphasizing the point that he was family and not just a guest. The Doctor chuckled at that remembering how he was pretending to be part of the catering staff the last time he was in there. The room looked different this time around. Before it was almost like he was in some kind of posh restaurant, but now it looked lived in. His eyes were immediately drawn to the fridge that was completely covered in photographs. He scanned the faces in the picture: Rose, Jackie, Pete, a child he assumed was Tony, Mickey, and older lady that he assumed was Mickey's gran, Capitan Jack...

He blinked.

Jack never came to this universe. He zeroed in on that particular photo and even pulled it from the fridge to get a better look. Without his glasses he had to focus a bit harder. Upon further inspection he realised that it was a photo taken in his original universe, particularly in Cardiff. There were three people in the photo Jack, Rose and a blue eyed, big eared version of himself. He looked back at the fridge and noticed even more photos of himself, both leather clad and pinstriped, interspersed with the Tyler family photos and drawings done by the littlest Tyler. Noticing the Doctor's interest, Jackie stepped up and placed a warm hand on his shoulder.

"They were on Rose's phone." She explained. He chuckled. He should have guessed that. "She missed you terribly. Told Tony countless stories about you." The Doctor's eyes shifted to a drawing Tony made of a man standing beside a tall blue box.

"I bet he's brilliant." He said softly. Jackie grinned.

"He is that. Now, c'mon you daft old alien, you need to put some food in you. You're even skinnier than I remembered. Don't you ever eat?"

* * *

Dinner wasn't anything that elaborate, just a simple beef stew. The Doctor took a few slow mouthfuls at first, but then his appetite kicked in and he was nearly inhaling it completely oblivious to the looks Rose and Jackie were giving him. They were willing to forgive his appalling table manners just this once as it was his first proper meal since getting this body. Rose was reminded of a certain Christmas dinner when he practically ate half the turkey after Regenerating and the somewhat jealous feeling that he could eat all that and still remain that thin. After his third bowl, he started to slow down again, and he seemed to be having trouble keeping his eyes open. Rose took him by the hand and guided him upstairs.

"Mum got a room ready for you." Rose explained as they walked hand-in-hand through the dark hallway. "It used to belong to Mickey, but I suppose it's yours now." She pushed open the door and they stepped inside. The Doctor realised he had some serious redecorating to do as there was football memorabilia strewn everywhere and even more photographs on a peg board above the desk. He wandered over to it and saw even more photos of him and Rose.

"Blimey. It's like you have mini-shrines to me everywhere!" He scrunched up his face. "It's a bit creepy honestly." Rose chuckled as she looked at the pegboard herself.

"Mickey cared a lot for you too, even if he never admitted it. You made him realise just how brave he could be." Rose sniffled, and the Doctor realised she was doing her best not to cry. "I'm gonna miss him…"

"Well, we can always construct a mini-shrine to him." He shot her a cheeky grin as he bumped his shoulder into hers. Rose couldn't help but smile back as she hugged his arm and he tried to maintain his smile, but his newfound Humanity was asserting itself again and his smile waivered as he let out a giant yawn. She laughed at him for a moment before she found herself letting out a sympathetic yawn. Then he yawned in sympathy to her yawn.

"Sorry." He suddenly had the presence of mind to cover his mouth while yawning. "I just never realised how _contagious_ this is." Rose laughed.

"Just one of those really domestic human things I suppose. That's probably why you ignored it."

"I didn't ignore it."

"No?"

"Well, I could never _ignore_ you, now could I?" He laughed lightly as he reached out to stroke her cheek gently. She smiled brightly at him as his eyes quickly alternated between her eyes and her smile as he leaned in close. His lips barely grazed hers as he heard a noise that almost stopped his heart: Jackie Tyler loudly clearing her throat. He jumped away from Rose and almost glared at Jackie.

"Oi, you ever hear of 'knocking'?" He couldn't disguise the annoyance in his voice as the Donna part of him bubbled to the surface. Jackie stared at him slack-jawed for a moment.

"Has this meta-whatever made you even more rude?" Jackie snapped. The Doctor sighed and rubbed the back of his neck in what Rose knew was a nervous gesture.

"And still not ginger…" he muttered mostly to himself. Despite everything, Rose chuckled at the reference.

"What?" Jackie scrunched her nose feeling like she missed the punchline to a joke.

"Nothing." He smiled insincerely at Jackie. Jackie rolled her eyes at him.

"Typical bloke, you are." She sighed as she turned toward the bed and placed a couple shopping bags on top. "Here, I bought you some stuff to help you settle in. But you're gonna need a lot more. Can't have you walking around in the same clothes day after day…" The Doctor sighed loudly. This was getting far too domestic for his tastes, but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. But another part of him (he suspected strongly it was the Donna part) felt it a bit sweet on Jackie's part to mother him so. He smiled a bit more sincerely this time.

"Thanks." Jackie's face softened a bit as she nodded back.

"Now, we've all had a long day. Don't stay up too late." Jackie pointed between the Doctor and her daughter as she retreated out of the room. Filled with curiosity, the Doctor peered inside the bags Jackie left for him. Rose tried desperately not to smile as she already knew one of the contents as her mum rang her up earlier that day to make sure she was getting the correct thing. His face broke into a wide grin as he spotted a brown and black shoebox with the word 'Converse' emblazoned on the lid. He quickly pulled it from the bag and opened the box to find a pair of his beloved trainers sitting inside. But this time they were neither burgundy or white. They were blue. TARDIS blue. He couldn't help but throw his head back and laugh. Rose walked up and hugged him from behind.

"Knew you couldn't live without _those_." She laughed. He turned in her arms so he was facing her and lovingly kissed her forehead.

"Life wouldn't be worth it then." He squeezed her tighter to himself and just held her for a long moment. He heard her yawn again and he took a step back to look at her. "You should get some sleep." She looked up at him and noted the dark circles under his usually bright eyes. The yawn he was trying desperately to bite back after hearing hers overtook him.

"Looks like you need some too." She chuckled. He nodded, but didn't smile back this time. She saw something in his eyes she hadn't seen in a long time. Something that people may have missed if they didn't know him that well.

"What's wrong?" He shook his head and averted his gaze. "You're afraid of something, what is it?" He sighed heavily as he sharply looked back at her.

"What if…" He started and found he still couldn't hold her gaze. "What if I wake up, and I'm back on the TARDIS and this was all a dream?" Rose blinked unsure of how to answer him. "I can't lose you again…" He felt her hand on his cheek and he looked into her eyes once more. He leaned in and kissed her properly this time without interruption.

"That won't happen." Rose breathed against his lips when she broke away for air. He let out a contented sigh as he pulled her into a hug, brushing a kiss to her cheek along the way.

"How long are you going to stay with me?" He whispered in her ear, a question he asked before losing her in a parallel world. Her answer remained the same.

"Forever." She stayed in his arms for a long moment with her head against his chest. She listened to his heartbeat and although it wasn't the almost hypnotic double heartbeat she got so accustomed to, it was still comforting all the same. He was real and not just an image. He was solid under her touch. She could breathe in his scent with every breath and still had his taste on her lips. She savoured those feelings as long as she could. She also felt that she could fall asleep standing up and with great reluctance she pulled away.

"I really need to get some sleep." She sighed. He nodded. "See you in the morning. I love you." She pressed a quick kiss to his jaw before turning towards the door. She slowly closed the door behind her.

The Doctor sat down at the edge of his bed, the mattress giving way softly underneath him. He smiled to himself as he couldn't believe just how lucky he was. The last three words Rose said to him played over and over in his head.

She loved him.

Sure, that wasn't the first time she said it throughout the day, but every time she did it made him happier and happier. And true, he was stuck in a parallel world with no TARDIS and with so many domestics that it would make his full Time Lord self sick, but stuck with Rose really wasn't so bad.

Speaking of domestics, he turned his attention to the bags Jackie brought him, remembering her saying they were full of things he was going to need. He ruffled through them and found soap, a tube of toothpaste, a blue tooth brush, various shaving and haircare products, a package of pants, a bunch of socks, a clean pair of pajamas…

Wait.

His mind reversed course and went back a couple of items. He took it back. Being mothered by Jackie was just slightly creepy. This was something he was going to need in the long run, but the mere thought that Jackie Tyler _intentionally_ walked into a store and _purposely_ bought him underpants was just unnerving.

"I hate domestics…"


	5. Completely Human

**I feel like I've kept you all waiting for this, so I've tried to make it a bit longer for you to hopefully enjoy.**

 **This would also probably be a good time to check out the prologue to this story "Messages Across Time" as it explains a bit featured at the start of this chapter.**

 **As always, I don't own Doctor Who. I don't think the DVD's or the Funko Pops I own count…**

* * *

Rose stepped into her bedroom with a smile on her face. She felt so blessed to have the Doctor back in her life. She removed her blue coat and went through its pockets. She still had the controls to the dimension cannon in there. She let out a happy sigh knowing that she would _never_ have to travel like that again. It was absolutely horrible on the body. She tossed it carelessly on top of her desk. She'd dismantle it later.

Returning to her pockets she pulled out a rather interesting souvenir she picked up during her first trip through the dimension cannon. It was a small cube decorated with Gallifreyan writing and a carving of a rose on the top. She smiled at it. Her first trip through and she had found the TARDIS and a future version of the Doctor.

She still didn't know why he gave it to her. But she was given instructions not to let the current version of him know of its existence until the correct time. Up until this point she had complied with his request. She didn't have time to tell the Time Lord version, and there was so much going on with the Human version she decided to put it off until later.

She would tell him tomorrow after they both got a good night's rest.

* * *

The Doctor opened his eyes groggily, immediately shut them again and groaned. A sliver of sunshine was peeking through the curtains and directly into his eyes.

' _Bloody yellow dwarf star interrupting my sleep!'_

Eyes closed, he rolled over so he could no longer see the bright blood red colour through his eyelids took a deep breath and tried to settle back down to sleep. But something was still bothering him.

' _What on Earth is that_ smell _?'_

He inhaled deeply through his nose and nearly choked. He may no longer have the enhanced senses of a Time Lord, but he didn't need them to know that something smelled absolutely horrible. It was the ripe old smell of humans. And he was the only one in the room.

' _Human sweat glands… isn't that wizard…'_

A shower later would sort that out. It wasn't the absolute worst smell that he'd ever encountered and could ignore it for now. He still felt very tired and just wanted to sleep. He could finally understand the human predilection for sleep. It was very pleasant. He could get used to doing it on a nightly basis. But his body wasn't quite through with him yet. He tossed and turned a little trying to find a comfortable position and avoid the retina searing light that was aimed at his pillow, but he just couldn't find one. It had a lot to do with the very uncomfortable pressure he felt on his bladder.

As a Time Lord, he had the ability to push aside his physical needs for almost days at a time. His body could filter toxins and waste much more effectively than humans. He didn't even feel hungry or tired as often, although eating was something he did more socially with his human companions and he only slept when he was either bored or was about to fall over with exhaustion.

But now, in a human body the thought of food was making his stomach growl, and thinking about how a Time Lord body could filter toxins was making the pressure on his bladder feel even worse. With speed he didn't think was possible in his still half-asleep state, he jumped out of bed and ran to the en-suite before he found himself in a puddle of his own making.

Now fully awake, and the almost painful pressure gone he glanced at his own reflection in the mirror and nearly recoiled at what he saw. It was the same face he had been wearing for nearly three years, granted his hair was a mess and he was in desperate need of a shave and a wash, but it was still the same face.

No.

He only had this face for about a day.

It was strange now that he thought about it. As a Time Lord, he had regenerated several times already. Eleven times if he was to be precise and counted the face he never talked about and kept hidden deep in his psyche. He didn't even show Rose that one and he trusted her with everything!

But this wasn't a regeneration. Not a normal one anyway. He could get used to a new face, but a borrowed one? The Time Lord would change into a new face eventually, but he would be stuck with this face until the day he died. And with a human lifespan that would be sooner than he liked.

' _I don't age. I regenerate. But humans decay. You wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone you…'_

He remembered saying those words to Rose long ago, and remembered almost confessing his love for her then. He would still watch her wither, but…

' _You can spend the rest of your life with me. But I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on, alone. That's the curse of the Time Lords.'_

He barked out a laugh that echoed strangely off of the tiled surfaces around him. It was no longer true. Being stuck in a human body that couldn't regenerate and needed such irritating maintenance to just keep going was probably the greatest thing to ever happen to him since the day he met a certain pink and yellow human. The curse was lifted. Sure, one day she would wither and die, but she promised him forever. And even if that forever was only forty or fifty years, so be it. He would happily spend them with Rose if she wanted to, withering along beside her.

He smiled at himself in the mirror. He was human, had only one heart, no TARDIS, sometimes sounded a bit like Donna when he talked, but she still loved him. It was the best feeling in the universe.

He quickly showered and shaved, being mindful of the sideburns he loved so much, brushed his teeth, and styled his hair into its usual sticky-upy manner. He returned to his bedroom and found the white t-shirt and black jeans he acquired from Torchwood (which reminded him that he needed a word with Mr. Peter Alan Tyler sometime that day). The jeans were still clean but the t-shirt had a very unattractive gravy stain on its front. He sighed. Jackie was right, he couldn't go around in the same clothes day after day. He would have to get new ones. But in the meantime he couldn't go around shirtless.

He went over to the wardrobe and found that Mickey had left some clothes behind. Surely no one would mind if he borrowed a shirt from him. There were several t-shirts with pop-culture references printed on them that he didn't understand due to being in a parallel world. He passed those up right away. He found a plain black jumper and settled on it and quickly got dressed. He was just sitting on the edge of his bed lacing up his brand new Converses when there was a knock on the bedroom door.

"Come in!" He didn't look up as he went to tie his other shoe. The door opened and the one who knocked crossed the room without saying a word. The Doctor looked up slightly irritated that whoever it was didn't even say 'hello' before they walked in and was met with a pair of hands lightly gripping his face and soft lips pressing against his. He pulled back to see Rose smiling down at him and his irritation vanished. He stood up and returned the kiss deciding that this was much better than a simple 'hello'.

"Mornin'." He smiled at her after they parted.

"I think you mean 'afternoon'." Rose corrected him. He furrowed his brow and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearly 1:00. He blinked. "And you always said _I_ was the sleepyhead." She laughed lightly.

"Well, considering all that happened yesterday I felt entitled to a little sleep. Fighting Daleks and dealing with human biological metacrises is such tiring work." He shot her a mock-frown and she laughed.

"Okay, I'll grant you that. But mum was upset you didn't join us for breakfast. She made banana pancakes and everythin'!" He frowned in earnest this time. "Don't worry, she saved you some." She patted him reassuringly on the arm and realised what he was wearing. "Hold on, isn't this Mickey's shirt?"

"Yeah, had to borrow it. Got a stain on the other one. Didn't think anyone would mind." Rose smiled as she took a few steps away from him and took in his full appearance.

"Y'know if we got you a leather coat, you'd look like…" She gestured at him unsure of how to properly finish that sentence, her smile quickly fading. She turned her face away quickly, hoping he didn't notice.

He did.

He stepped over to her and took her hand in his.

"Rose, look at me." He commanded softly. She looked up at him, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. He stoked her face with his free hand. "I'm still him, remember?" She nodded.

"I know. Sorry. It's just… I kinda miss that version of you sometimes. Is that wrong?" He shook his head and leaned his forehead on hers.

"No. It isn't. I kinda liked being him." He managed the daft old smile that version of him had mastered so well, and Rose couldn't help but smile back. "That's better. A bit of a smile." He laughed before giving her a gentle kiss. Then his stomach growled. Rose pulled away, laughing her head off at him.

"Well, that's one way to ruin the mood…" The Doctor grumbled, causing Rose to laugh even harder. Then before they both knew it they were practically in tears laughing. They didn't notice that someone else had entered the room without knocking.

"Ah, Doctor there you are! I heard you wanted to speak to me." The Doctor registered this as Pete Tyler's voice. His mood switched on a dime and he instantly became the Oncoming Storm. There were no words to describe just how angry he was at the man. And without any words, or much coherent thought, the Doctor punched Pete Tyler directly in the face.

* * *

 **Hehehe. I love a good cliff hanger!**

 **Please review if you like it. It'll motivate me to write even more!**


	6. Funny Way to Make Friends

**I just want to say a giant thank you to everyone who has followed this story so far! I'd give you all hugs if I could but seeing that everyone probably lives in different countries and airfare is EXPENSIVE, I don't think that's feasible. So instead I suppose you'll all have to settle for virtual high fives. XD**

 **You guys are awesome and thank you again for your support.**

 **As always I don't own Doctor Who.**

* * *

It all seemed to happen in slow motion and to someone else entirely. But when the Doctor realised that Pete was lying in a crumpled mass on his bedroom floor and the knuckles of his right hand were throbbing in pain, he knew what happened and that he was to blame. He had over nine hundred years of life experiences in his mind, and with it should have come with the restraint he had indoctrinated into him by the Time Lords. But he had something else now that seemed to override that.

Donna and her fiery temper.

He loved that woman like a sister, but when she got angry at someone, they better get out of her way. He was a recipient of her slaps on more than one occasion and he could swear they were harder than anything Jackie could muster up.

That aggression was passed on into him. Sure, the Doctor got angry in the past. The Time War was proof enough of that. But aside from defending himself by using Venusian Aikido or getting involved in sword duels, he very rarely got involved in physical altercations. Violence was almost revolting to him, and he much preferred to deal with conflicts with words and not fists. And he knew from personal experience that humans were capable of that too. When he was forced to hide in 1913, his fully human self couldn't bring himself fire a gun even when faced with deadly foes.

Now he was neither Human or Time Lord. He was something in between. And Human impulses seemed to dominate everything else.

The Doctor took his eyes off of the crumpled mass of Pete Tyler and looked over to Rose who was just moments ago laughing heartily at the silly noises his new human body was fond of making. Now her face was locked in an expression of fear. Only once before was this expression directed at him, right after he first changed into the face he was now wearing. Then it wasn't just fear, it was distrust. She was looking at him like he was a different man. Again! Even the Time Lord version of him did his best to convince her that they were for all intents and purposes the same man.

Was he wrong? Did this added dose of Humanity make him a completely different person? One who was prone to violence?

He already committed genocide. Maybe he was.

He couldn't hold Rose's gaze. He wouldn't blame her if she never spoke to him again after this. He looked down at his hands. They were shaking terribly and the knuckles of his right hand were beginning to bruise. His right hand. The one originally chopped off by an angry Sycorax. The one that originally belonged to the Time Lord known as the Doctor. The one that grabbed Rose's hand when he whispered "Run". The one that she held unreservedly during all their adventures. But that wasn't him. Not anymore. How could he call himself 'The Doctor' when he was given to such random acts of violence?

He drew in a shaky breath, and swallowed around the lump that had developed in his throat. Yes, his fist started it, but maybe, he thought, he could use words to end it. He may no longer be the exact same man, but he could learn from The Doctor's experiences. He quickly glanced at Rose again. He loved her so much and felt such regret over losing his control and making her doubt him. He wanted to be better for her. He opened his mouth and began to speak.

"I… I… uh—"

Okay, it was speech… sort of. If only he could get the words to gather coherently in his still impressive Time Lord brain and exit his mouth properly, that would be a _fantastic_ start.

Pete responded immediately. And it was a response that shocked him. He expected shouting from Pete. He expected colourful words in the English language; crude euphemisms, or even insults and insinuation regarding his parentage. Or perhaps he expected the man to leap to his feet and plant his fist directly into his teeth. That's what he felt he deserved after all.

But that's not at all what he got.

Laughing. He got laughing.

He looked down at Pete and saw that he was grinning ear to ear, despite the black eye that was beginning to develop. No malice was present at all on his face.

This was confusing. Very confusing.

"Suppose I deserved that." Pete said between chuckles. He reached out his hand towards the Doctor in a silent request to help him get back to his feet. The Doctor numbly reached out with his uninjured hand and heaved Pete back to his feet.

"Yeah, I suppose you did." The Doctor was shocked by his own cheeky response, the kind of response a certain red-head would conjure up. "Look… I… I didn't… I mean, I-" Pete silenced him with a wave of his hand.

"I just came to say… I'm sorry." Pete said simply. "Jackie already gave me a pretty good…uh… talking to…" He gestured to his cheek where there was still a faint mark on his face that was suspiciously the same shape as Jackie's hand; a small scratch on his face where her diamond ring would be. Neither the Doctor nor Rose needed any more elaboration on what he meant by 'talking to'.

"Two universes owe you a debt of gratitude, Doctor, and I went and ignored it." Pete continued. "That was a real rubbish way of welcoming you to the family."

"You can say that again…" Rose grumbled, almost under her breath. Pete sighed and turned to her.

"Rose, I'm tryin' to apologise here. To both of you!" Pete's words seemed to fall onto deaf ears as Rose fled the room. A moment later, he heard her bedroom door slam shut. Pete sighed and turned back to the Doctor.

"Don't mind her. She's had a rough time of it since she's been lookin' for you." Pete explained. "You best go after her. I don't think she really wants to speak with me right now."

"Not sure she wants to speak with me either…" The Doctor sighed. Pete shook his head.

"You may be nine-hundred, but I think you need to learn a bit more about women." The Doctor blinked.

"First off: I'm only a _day_ old, well… almost. Sorta. Second-"

"First off:" Pete cut in. "She's completely in love with you. No 'almost' or 'sorta'. Second: you just scared her silly!" His face softened somewhat. "Look, Doc, we _both_ messed up royally, but I'm willing to forgive you 'cos I know you've been through something no human could ever hope to comprehend. Plus I totally deserved it after what I did to you. But you'll be messing up even more if you let her walk away!" The Doctor sighed. Humans. They had the irritating habit of being right more often than not.

"Thanks, Pete." The Doctor had a hint of a smile on his face as he moved to go find Rose.

"Wait, almost forgot." Pete reached into the breast pocket of his suit jacket and handed the Doctor an envelope. "Your documents. Welcome to the human race, Dr. Johnathan Noble-Smith." The Doctor eyed the envelope for a moment before taking it.

He was now _officially_ human.

* * *

Rose sat on the edge of her bed absently playing with the small cube the future Doctor gave her. She still didn't know its significance, and she desperately wanted to ask her Doctor about it now, but…

She'd seen him angry before, just not like that. She was also still livid at Pete, and felt like he deserved the punch to the face.

She sighed. It wasn't really like her to want such things.

There was a soft knock on her door, and before she could even say anything the door swung open slowly. The Doctor poked his head in.

"Hi." He said softly. She only nodded slightly in acknowledgement. "Can I…?" He gestured towards an empty spot on her bed. She shrugged. He walked in and sat down on the bed next to her. "Rose, I…"

"You scared me." She interrupted without looking up at him.

"I know." He replied simply. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Rose could hear the sincerity in his voice, and she found it within herself to look up at him.

"It's just this bit of Donna in me. Can be a bit overwhelming." He ran a hand through his hair sighed. "Besides, it's not going to happen again. Pete and I worked it out."

"Seriously? After what he did?"

"Rose… love, it's okay." Her eyes widened at his words, both by the fact that he seemed willing to actually forgive Pete for drugging and dragging him to Torchwood, and by the fact that he never before used such a term of endearment towards her.

"But Doctor he—"

"I know. Remember what… well… what _he,_ what the Doctor said yesterday?" It was incredibly strange for him to distinguish between himself and the Time Lord. "He said that you made him better, and that you could do the same for me." Rose nodded, remembering that rather difficult conversation. He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Well, I want to be better for _you_."

"I want that too." She gave him a small smile. He smiled back. "And I suppose, if you're willing to forgive Pete… I can too."

"See, now I'm making you better as well." He smiled cheekily and nudged his shoulder with hers. She leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Isn't that how it's meant to work?" She replied with a smile.

"Definitely." He reached over to take her hands into his; discarding the envelope Pete had given him. Then he realised she was holding something in her own hands. "What'cha got there?" Rose looked down at her hands, almost forgetting what she was holding.

"It's a long story." She said with a smile.

"Then tell it."

* * *

 **Yup. Me and my cliffhangers. Again. :)**

 **Please review and tell me what you think. This chapter was harder to write than I thought it would be.**


	7. The Greatest Gifts of All

**Now would be an excellent time to read my other story "Messages Across Time" as it explains in further detail things that happen in this chapter.**

 **Thanks once again to everyone who has favourited and reviewed this story so far, it means a lot to me.**

 **EDIT: I've decided to consolidate the last two chapters into one longer chapter as I feel it helps the flow better. Sorry for the re-upload.**

 **And yup, you guessed it… I still don't own Doctor Who.**

Rose handed him the small cube she had been holding, and he gasped loudly when he got a clear look at it. He couldn't believe his eyes.

"Where did you…? Rose, this… this is a Gallifreyan storage cube!" The Doctor declared. "How?" She smiled at him.

"The Doctor gave it to me." He raised an eyebrow at her. "My first jump through the Dimension Cannon, I found the TARDIS, except I was a few years out. He was over a _thousand_ years older, if you can believe it. Different face too. He looked older. And get this: he was Scottish."

" _Scottish?!_ " The Doctor sounded completely appalled. "The age thing, sure, some Time Lords lived well into their thousands. It's actually nice to know he survives for so long. But Scottish? Sorry, but that's just a bit rubbish…" Rose shot him a strange look.

"You pretended to be Scottish when we met Queen Victoria, so...?"

"That was only to blend in and not cause any undue alarm. I mean could you just imagine," he allowed a very convincing burr into his voice, "If I sounded like this all the time? I mean it would get just a wee bit annoying if I say so myself!" His flawless accent made Rose laugh (and secretly wish it was his real one).

"Although," he continued in his regular voice, then slipped seamlessly back into a Scottish accent for what he hoped would be comedic effect: "It would come in handy when I _really_ have to complain about things." Rose didn't laugh like he hoped she would. Instead she got a very far-away look in her eyes. "What?" He asked softly.

"Nothin'. It's just… you sounded just like him. Bit eerie." The Doctor nodded.

"Well… I suppose he's somewhere in me too. At least, he would've been if I never…" The Doctor trailed off. "Anyway. Doesn't matter." He plastered a forced smile on his face. He was mostly human now. No need to witter on about the fact he couldn't regenerate anymore. He turned his attention back to the cube and focused on the writing on five of its sides. To anyone else, they would've just looked like a pretty circular pattern, when in reality they were bland instructions on how to open it. Then he looked at the rose carving on the lid and realised it was done by hand. He lightly traced his index finger over the carving and his smile turned more genuine. Whatever this cube contained, he just knew it wasn't anything frivolous.

"So, what do we do with this then?" Rose asked excitedly.

"We follow these instructions." He indicated to the writing on the cube as his grin grew wider. He flexed the fingers of his right hand seeing as the bruises were making it a bit stiff and using the thumb and index finger he pressed two of the opposing sides of the cube in slightly, causing the engraving to glow in a bright golden hue. He then tapped his left index finger on the bottom of the cube twice, then the back twice, and then pressed and held his finger against the front for five seconds. The cube began to glow brighter and he put it down beside him on the bed between him and Rose where it grew to three times its original size, all except for the top where the rose was engraved. With it suspended in midair above the rest of the cube, the Doctor realised this section was attached to a delicate metal chain.

"Well, that was clever." He smiled as he lifted the necklace away from the rest of the cube. He turned the pendant over in his hand to find more Gallifreyan writing on the opposite side. He squinted his eyes a little, trying to get a clear look at it and huffed.

"What's it say?" Rose asked eagerly.

"Dunno. The writing is just so… _tiny_!" He lamented. Rose gave him her signature tongue touched smile as she reached into the cube and pulled out something he never expected to see again.

"Maybe these'll help. Looks like he's filled this thing with gifts!" His jaw dropped when he spotted his glasses in her hands. He slipped them on, and was relieved when his vision became crisp once again. Squinting was honestly giving him a headache. He returned his attention to the writing on the pendant. He read the inscription to himself first, then smiled warmly at Rose a smile that he reserved only for her. This was far from the generic writing on the sides of the cube. It was far, far more personal.

"You gonna leave me in suspense?" Rose asked cheekily, despite the flush that developed on her cheeks whenever he looked at her like that.

He moved to gently place the pendant around her neck and she moved her hair aside so he could secure the clasp properly. He couldn't help but play with the pendant where it sat perfectly in the middle of her collarbone.

"It says 'My beautiful Rose, the love of my lives…'" his voice hitched as he looked up into her eyes before continuing and saw her smiling back; happy tears forming in the corners of her eyes "'may you be happy and find your forever.'" He was pleasantly surprised when Rose threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

"I think I found my forever right here." The Doctor made a happy little 'hmm' sound as he returned her hug.

"Me too." He pulled back enough to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Now, besides corrective lenses and soppy love notes…" He caught her slight glower and quickly recovered with: "Which I completely approve of. Your happiness and my eyesight are of paramount importance. Without my sight, well, I couldn't see you smile!" Rose rolled her eyes at his little ramble and found her smile again. "I wonder what else he's packed in here." The Doctor turned back to the cube and noted (without much surprise) that it was bigger on the inside. His eyes went wide when he saw something that he loved almost as much as his pink and yellow human.

"My sonic screwdriver!" He laughed as he picked it up with a flourish. Then he took a closer look at it. "At least, a copy of it. He must've kept the original. Oh the bloody-" he sighed and went into what Rose loved to call 'full pout mode'. "He should've just stuffed another note in here. _Duplicate_ screwdriver for _duplicate_ Doctor." He grumbled. Rose patted him on the arm.

"S'okay. Least he was thinking about you." She gave him a reassuring smile. "I mean you're sort of useless without – "

"Oh, so now I'm _useless_! Thanks for that." Rose blinked realising how those words could be misconstrued.

"No, that's not what I… I was trying to make a joke."

"Very funny, Earth girl..." He grumbled angrily, his eyes locked on his new screwdriver, idly wondering if it had a setting to stop annoying people from talking. Despite everything, Rose laughed at that remark.

"I'll take 'Earth Girl' over 'Stupid Ape' any day." The Doctor sighed, suddenly realising how childish his over reaction was.

"Same thing, isn't it?" He shrugged, the beginnings of a smile tugging at the edges of his mouth. Rose smacked him lightly upside the head in retaliation to his cheeky remark, and he couldn't help but laugh and shove her shoulder lightly in return. She grabbed a pillow and lightly hit him in the face with it causing his glasses to be dislodged slightly from where they rested on his nose. He just gaped at her.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you, you _never_ hit someone wearing glasses?" He yanked them off his face and grabbed a pillow of his own and he smacked her with it. Moments later, a full on pillow fight was being waged and they were both so competitive that they weren't about to let the other one win. The Doctor landed a strike directly in Rose's face and she doubled over, holding her face in her hands. He dropped his pillow and rushed to her side, and unsurprisingly he got hit hard in the face by her pillow. He groaned. He should have seen _that_ coming.

"HAH!" Rose laughed triumphantly as she took a couple steps back from him. "I win!" He just smiled indulgently at her.

"Yeah, yeah. All hail the Queen of the Pillows." He went to retrieve the pillow he dropped and noticed that during their battle, they knocked the cube over and its remaining contents spilled onto the floor. Rose knelt down to help him clean up the small mess. He grabbed his glasses and screwdriver, securing them in his pockets and then looked over at Rose who seemed to be trying to make sense of what she was holding and when he realised what it was, his heart nearly stopped. It was another little box, but this one was covered in dark blue velvet. A ring box. The very same one he had been carrying around for months back when they were travelling in the TARDIS. The very same one he was such a coward about giving to her. But the way Rose was looking at it, it was like she could barely see it. Then he remembered he slapped a perception filter on it just in case she ever found it, and bit back the very relieved sigh that was threating to overtake him as she shrugged and put it back on top of the bed next to the upturned cube.

She didn't even seem to notice when the Doctor quickly grabbed it and shoved it into his pocket.

Then another object grabbed both their attentions. It looked like a small, thick tree branch. Rose reached out to pick it up, but she barely brushed her fingers against it when she felt a strange, yet familiar hum, in her mind. She recoiled immediately. The Doctor reached out and picked up the strange object himself, and smiled when he felt the same hum inside his own mind.

"You are kidding me… no way." He practically whispered turning the small object over in his hands. "Oh, you are _beautiful_." He cooed to the strange little branch.

"Doctor, what is that thing?" He looked at her with a goofy grin plastered to his face.

"Well, you felt it, didn't you? That hum?" He gently took her hand and brought it up to the strange object and pressed her fingers to it. The hum entered her mind again, and she _knew_ she had felt this presence before.

"Are you saying that this is…?" He nodded vigorously.

"Oh yes! It's a piece of the TARDIS!"

The Doctor turned the little branch over in his hands getting a good long look at it. Oh, he could just _kiss_ his future self!

No, wait… that would just be creepy… _very_ creepy.

A good old bear hug?

Much better.

Oh, he could just hug the stuffing out of his future self!

"Doctor, you once told me that TARDISes were grown and not built." Rose pointed out.

"That's right." He answered almost distractedly as he whipped out his glasses and examined the branch even closer, his tongue pressed firmly against his top teeth in concentration.

"So, could we actually grow another TARDIS from this thing?"

"Looks like!" He gave it a good sniff.

"But you also said that this universe's energy was incompatible with the TARDIS. Diesel in a petrol engine or something like that."

"Weeell…" He drew out the vowel before giving the branch a quick lick, causing Rose to roll her eyes at him for once again acting like a two-year-old. (Even Tony knew to not lick things indiscriminately.) "This bit of coral has been in stasis for over a thousand years, so _technically_ it's still young enough to adapt to this universe's energy so…" He whipped out the sonic and scanned the little coral branch, "I can _try_ and recreate the soil conditions that existed on Gallifrey. May be a bit difficult as some elements aren't present on Earth, or any other planet for that matter. But I can _possibly_ reproduce them if I can get my hands on certain chemicals and _hopefully_ not blow myself up in the process. And _if_ I'm successful at doing that and she responds to growing in this universe with elements I've whipped up in a lab, I'd have to build a console unit for her. Time Rotor might be a bit tricky, but _if_ I can manage space flight I can _hopefully_ find the parts I need on nearby planets, _providing_ this universe has parallel versions of the repair yards I visited back in our universe. And that's not even mentioning getting the chameleon circuit to stay stuck on being a 1950's Police Box. Did they even have those in this universe? Ah, doesn't matter. That's the least of our problems. For now."

Rose listened carefully to his mile-a-minute rant and was waiting for him to stop and catch his breath before she cut back in.

"How long do you think it'll take you, then?" He pondered her question for a good long moment.

"A year. Maybe two." He shrugged. "Hard to say, really. I've never had to grow a TARDIS from scratch before. And…well…" He trailed off, still staring resolutely at the coral. Rose waited a moment before gently prompting him to continue. He took in a long, breath before he could speak again.

"I can't guarantee that this will work." His words came out in a whisper as if he was afraid of his own voice. Rose shifted closer and leaned her head on his shoulder, her eyes transfixed on the coral.

"You'll think of something."

"Will I?"

"Well, with you being _so_ _impressive_ and all." She reached out and gently took the coral out of his hands and smiled when she heard the familiar hum in her head again.

"I don't think anyone's ever grown a TARDIS off world before. There are just so many variables and…"

"So what?" Rose interrupted him. "No one on Earth has ever built a cannon that could send people to other universes before." She turned her head and buried her face into the crook of his neck and just breathed him in for a moment. She smiled when she felt his arms wrap tightly around her. "And look where that venture got us. The dimension cannon was dangerous. I nearly died once…" She could feel the Doctor's breath hitch and he gathered her even closer to him.

"What happened?" Rose's smile waivered. She didn't even mean to mention the almost dying bit. But the penny was already in the air…

"It was during the testing phase. We thought we found a big enough gap to squeeze through bit it was rapidly closing. If Mickey hadn't pulled me back in time, I could've been lost to the void for good. Pete nearly shut down the project right then and there. But then the stars were goin' out faster and faster and then it started workin' and… here we are." She smiled again as she felt the Doctor plant a kiss to the crown of her head.

"Here we are." He agreed.

"So what I'm tryin' to say is, despite the risks, I think we should try. I mean, do you really think he would give us this gift if he didn't think it would work? He's givin' us our old lives back!"

"But if this doesn't…" Rose was getting really tired with him trying to say all the ways this new project wouldn't work, so she rolled her eyes and decided to employ the same technique he used to get her to stop talking the night before. She let out a contented sigh when she felt him relax and started to kiss her back. Finally, she found an effective way to shut him up. Soon, the need for air became imperative (and the Doctor silently cursed his loss of a respiratory bypass system) and they both pulled away.

"If I'm allowed to finish a sentence," he attempted so sound exasperated, but she knew he wasn't remotely serious. He rested his forehead on hers, "I just wanted to say that if this doesn't work I…" again he was interrupted by Rose's lips getting in the way. He absolutely loved the fact that they finally felt comfortable enough with each other that this kissing thing could actually happen on a quite regular basis, but he needed to say something important at that particular moment. Rose's disappointed whimper when he pushed her away slightly and gently placed his fingers over her lips almost made him loose his resolve and just resume their quite fantastic snogging session, but he needed to continue talking.

" _Blimey_ , Rose… I just need to say, that if this doesn't work, and we don't get our old lives back, I'm more than happy to start a new one here with you. Y'know, if you want?"

"Is that a proposal, Doctor?" Rose gave him her tongue touched smile, and he could feel his face getting red. He very nearly whipped out that little ring box right there and then, but he was too scared to move. Scared of _what_ , he had absolutely no idea. Sensing his discomfort, Rose just leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "S'okay, no pressure." He visibly relaxed upon hearing those words. "Then again, knowing mum…" She let the rest of that sentence hang in the air, and the Doctor shuddered.

"Speaking of which, I think we shouldn't tell her about the new TARDIS. At least until we know one way or the other. Don't want her to think I'm ' _kidnapping_ ' you again." He chuckled.

"Wouldn't mind if you did."


	8. Domestic Bliss

**As promised, a FAR more lighthearted chapter. Teeniest bit of angst at the beginning, but not too much.**

 **I also noticed that the mobile app wasn't displaying the last chapter correctly. If you're a mobile reader, please check the last chapter as you may have missed the second half of it as I merged two chapters into one.**

 **As always: the BBC owns Doctor Who, not me.**

* * *

Rose often wondered if the Doctor could stay in one place for five minutes. This particular version of him seemed practically incapable of staying still. Always running about, talking a mile-a-minute about everything and nothing. He was manic and fidgety even during the quiet moments.

And don't even get her started whenever things started to get 'too domestic' for his tastes. It could get just a tad annoying at times, but it just made her love him even more knowing he wasn't perfect.

Now he was mostly human and this domestic life would be his for the next year or two if the new TARDIS worked out. Even longer, a lifetime, if it didn't. It frightened her a little, to be honest.

She thought about their conversation way back on Krop-Tor when they thought they had lost the TARDIS for good. Rose teased him about getting a mortgage and he visibly paled, and they both completely avoided talking about sharing a place to live. He never explicitly said he was against the idea, but then when did the Time Lord ever sit down and talk about his feelings?

If only she knew how close he was to having a complete stranger deliver the words he so desperately wanted to tell his precious girl before he plunged into the pit.

Now, she had just seen his face pale again when she teased him about what sounded to her like a proper proposal. She didn't mean to sound like a clingy girlfriend. They were just starting over, and even with the fact the now Human Doctor was far more open with his feelings towards her, she didn't want to push him into anything he wasn't ready for.

If only she knew how ready he was. How much he wanted to take the next step and have a future that revolved solely around her and perhaps a family of their own.

For the moment, however, they both seemed content to continue some aspects of their relationship where they left off. They sat in comfortable silence on the Doctor's bedroom floor getting to work on growing the new baby TARDIS. For as fidgety as he was, he just loved to spend an inordinate amount of time and attention on projects that grabbed his full attention. And now he seemed to completely forget that his now human self needed to do things like eat breakfast. Even if he felt hungry, he was too excited to eat. He was well on his way to dismantling Mickey's old computer to salvage parts for a growth tank for the baby TARDIS, Rose sitting at his side holding and organising parts for him just like she did in the old days when there was a loud knock on his bedroom door.

He ignored it and soniced the motherboard again, loosened another chip and handed it carefully to Rose.

Four slow, loud, deliberate knocks.

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Answer that, will you, Love?" He asked distractedly, his new favourite way of referring to her rolling effortlessly off his tongue.

"It's your door, _Sweetie_." She shot back with a sly grin, returning his term of endearment with the first one that popped in her head. Since she was looking down at the components in her hand (wondering how they would be in any way useful) she missed the slightly pained expression on his face when he heard that one particular word. He let it slide though. At least he had someone to call him that.

"I'm busy…" He muttered.

More knocking, followed by: "Doctor? Rose? You in there?" in a voice that Rose immediately knew was her mother's.

More sonicing of seemingly random computer parts.

"Fiiiine…" Rose sighed in defeat. She stood up and walked to the door, careful not to step on any of the computer debris. She opened up and Jackie looked annoyed as ever. The Doctor quickly pocketed his sonic hoping to avoid having to explain to Jackie how he got it. At least for now.

"What the 'ell?" Jackie practically screamed when she saw the state of the room, momentarily forgetting the actual reason for her being there.

"Now, Mum, there's a perfectly good explanation…" Rose started, but she was having none of it.

"Can't leave you alone for five minutes without you dismantling something! Remind me never to let you near my kitchen appliances. Remember the state you left my toaster in? Practically had to scrape the toast off the ceilin'! Well, I'm not lettin' that 'appen anymore! Although I suppose this is better than what you two _could_ be getting up to alone and locked up in this room."

"There a point to this?" The Doctor blinked, his voice clearly raising in pitch and tips of his ears turning red as his brain processed her implications, and why he was working on the growth tank and not… well… what Rose's mum was thinking (rubbish Human hormones!). Jackie just glared at him before turning to Rose.

"Don't know how you put up with 'im bein' so rude. I swear he got worse after he changed."

"Oi!" The Doctor managed to get all the squeak out of his voice for at least one syllable.

"And I swear this meta-thingy hasn't helped."

"Not my fault Donna couldn't keep her mouth shut…"

"You can help it now!"

Rose had to bite hard on her lip to stop from laughing out loud. She always found the arguments between the Doctor and her mum hilarious.

"Wha'cha want us for, Mum?" Rose asked trying to get back on track.

"Well, if Himself over there could stop tinkering for a few moments, he's got things to do!"

"Jackie, I'm working on something _very_ delicate here… so if I could just have-" If it were possible, Jackie increased her glare another few notches.

"You already missed breakfast this mornin', an' I wasn't kiddin' when I said that I don't want you wearin' the same clothes day after day." The Doctor removed his glasses (that he forgot he was even wearing, bless) and rubbed at his eyes.

"I changed my jumper…" he muttered and Rose swore she heard a slightly Northern accent creep in to his voice and couldn't hide her grin. Jackie rolled her eyes.

"That you took from Mickey! You only own one pair of trousers and a T-shirt, and don't even _think_ you're gonna be wearin' those trainers to the Vitex gala next week." The Doctor sputtered incoherently at the thought of shopping for clothes. Far to Human for his liking.

"Vitex gala?" Rose scrunched her nose.

"Oh, Sweetheart. Don't tell me you _forgot_!"

"Kinda had two _universes_ to worry about and a Doctor to find, in case _you_ forgot!"

The Doctor didn't know whether to be flattered or run and hide from the two angry Tyler women, one of which was intent on dragging him into more hideous domestics. To his relief Jackie visibly relaxed and the anger mostly left her eyes.

"Sorry, you're right. It's just really important to Pete that we attend. Shows that Vitex is a company that's devoted to families. Now…" Jackie turned and pointed to the Doctor. "You. Downstairs. Now. You already wasted half the day."

"But Jackie… shopping? Really?" The Doctor whinged. She grabbed his arm and yanked him to his feet with surprising strength.

"Oh, you're worse than Tony…" Jackie sighed. "But just think, though: what do you really own now? Don't you think you'll feel better once you have some of your own things again?"

"Well…" He raised his hand that was still holding his glasses and rubbed at the back of his neck without even thinking, and Jackie blinked.

"Where'd you get those, then?" The Doctor noticed what was in his hand.

"Weeeell… ah… y'see spare pair! Oh yes! My spare pair that Rose was holding on to for me. Always losing things, I was. So she kindly volunteered to carry spares of things I needed. Even this!" He whipped out his sonic with a flourish. Jackie blinked. "Very handy, this! Apparently I'm kinda useless without it, but I mostly went hands free for a while. I could save the universe with a kettle and some string… but I also wore a decorative vegetable… which is really besides the point, I was a different man back then, but you understand, right? Still, the sonic is just brilliant! Got me out of more messes than I can count. Well, this and my psychic paper. Which reminds me, I seem to have lost that for good. Never was able to get a spare. I should've really looked into that, but they're insanely rare."

"Sorry, borrowed it to get around Torchwood. Torchwood from our original universe. Still have it tucked away somewhere." Rose grinned at him when he _finally_ stopped for breath, relieved that she didn't have to lie to her mother, but still able to lend some credibility to the Doctor's insane story. The psychic paper really was tucked away in her desk drawer.

"So why didn't you bring the screwdriver with you yesterday? Woulda been handy against them Dalek things." Jackie pointed out.

"Didn't know he was comin' home to stay." Rose patted the Doctor's arm. He took her hand in his and smiled warmly at her and only just stopped himself from kissing her in front of her mother (who really wouldn't have been surprised at this point.)

"Alright then, I suppose you're right. Except, when did you get that necklace?" Jackie gestured to Rose's new jewelry.

"Uh… Bought it a while back… forgot I had it." Rose hated lying to her mother, but it was either that or have her worry incessantly about the new TARDIS. Jackie nodded slowly.

"Fine. But I'm serious, Doctor. Downstairs. Two minutes. Got lunch waitin' for ya and then I've arranged a car for you. Don't make me come back up to get'cha…" With that, Jackie left.

The Doctor and Rose let out the lungsful of breath they were both holding and couldn't help but dissolve into giddy laughter.

* * *

Despite all his earlier complaints, the Doctor actually took to clothes shopping with a little more enthusiasm than Rose expected. It may have been something to do with the fact they convinced Jackie they could accomplish this task without her help.

("Just as long as he doesn't come home looking like a complete wierdo! A stick of celery? You're just makin' that up! Right? Oh God, you're serious…")

He tried on a suit that was nearly a match to his old brown pinstripes, but there was something about it now. He shared over 900 years of memories with the Time Lord, but actually dressing the same as him now just felt off. Rose seemed to think so too, if the way she paled slightly when she saw him in that suit was any indication.

"Time to look forward, not back." He muttered mostly to himself as he retreated back into the change room.

After trying on several different suits (he still liked them a lot) he realised that he didn't even like wearing ties or oxford shirts anymore.

"Lemme guess: Donna wasn't too fussy on wearing things that buttoned right up, did she?" Rose joked.

"No, not really. She said she didn't like anything restrictive around her neck." He replied as he started walking towards a rack of colourful T-shirts to wear under his new jackets.

"And now _you_ don't like them. Think there's a connection?"

"Well, if you think about it, I haven't even worn them myself. I was kinda in a hurry after I broke out of that jar. Couldn't exactly stop the Daleks whilst streaking now could I? Weeeelll… I could… but I couldn't be fussed with buttons and a tie at that moment." After briefly searching for a T-shirt in his size he picked one up and held it up against his chest. "I like blue. What do you think?"

For a second time that day… he received confusing laughter instead of the answer he expected. The ways Donna's personality now effected his were quite endearing, she thought. Oh, how Rose wished she could've gotten to know her better.

"It's nice." Rose agreed. "Blue suits you."

"Don't think I'm completely bonkers then?"

"Never said that…"

He grinned even wider and grabbed a few more shirts in the same hue.

"Mum'll kill you if you do that…"

"But Rooooose… it's easier this way!" He pouted adorably. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Fine…" He dropped all but two of them.

"See, I know you're tryin' a slightly more casual look, but Mum _will_ kill you if you don't get a tux for the gala next week."

"A tuxedo, really?" He pouted some more. Rose leaned in close and whispered:

"C'mon, it'll make you look even more… _foxy._ "

A smile threatened to break out onto his face, but he fought it.

"It's just… every time I wear a tux, a disaster always strikes. Professor Lazarus, the Titanic…" He shuddered, and made a mental note to expand on those stories later. "Besides, bow ties are _not_ cool, and _never_ will be. I'd love to meet whoever invented them and give them a piece of my mind…"

"When the new TARDIS is ready, we can do that. Now, stop being so daft. It's only for one night… a year. Unless Mum decides to throw more dinner parties. Yeah, you'll need a tux."

"Roooose…" He whinged again. She gave him her biggest saddest eyes, and yup… there were those fluttering eyelashes that always, ALWAYS undid him. "Fine!" He raised his arms in defeat.

"Ta." She gave him a swift kiss.

"Still wearin' Chucks with it…"

* * *

 **Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE writing the Doctor's little rants and dialogue for Jackie? I think they're my favourite to write for!**

 **Reviews are love.**


	9. Interlude

**I'M ALIVE!**

 **Sorry for the delay in updating this story. Writer's block is a real pain.**

 **This is just a tiny interlude. It was something I thought of the other day and was kicking myself as to why I didn't include It in the last chapter.**

 **Enjoy! I've started the proper chapter 9, but I'm not sure when it's going to be completed.**

* * *

It had caught his eye the moment they walked into the store. He tried to ignore it, he really did. But it was impossible. It was exactly what he needed. He walked up to it as soon as Rose was distracted by something else.

It was something so nostalgic for both the Doctor and Rose and he couldn't resist it. He pulled it off the hanger and tried it on. He grinned at his reflection in the full length mirror. It fit perfectly!

But a tiny bit of doubt wormed its way into his mind. Rose visibly recoiled when she saw him in brown pinstripes seeing it as a reminder of the Doctor that dumped them back into this universe. So what would she think of this particular garment?

He moved to take it off when he caught her startled face reflected in the mirror in front of him.

"Sorry, I was just being silly I'll…"

"No!" Rose interrupted sharply.

"It's really not appropriate. I—I wasn't thinking and…"

She shook her head and smiled softly. "Don't be so daft! Leather suits you too."

* * *

 **Yup. I wanted to give Tentoo a leather coat because reasons.**


	10. Nightmare

**I LIIIIIVE!**

 **A proper honest to goodness chapter! This isn't where I was originally going to take things, but this idea popped into my head and needed to be written and I found a way to work it into the story so it worked out fantastically. I cut out what I originally planned for this chapter as I felt like it was just more filler, and last chapter kinda felt like that to me… so… yeah.**

 **Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

It had been a long day. The first full one as a human no less! His body demanded rest but his mind wouldn't grant it to him. The Doctor lay in his bed and just stared at the ceiling contemplating his new existence. Being human wasn't exactly what he had imagined it to be. Sure, he'd been in this state before. But he was hardly himself and the TARDIS had provided for his material needs just like She always did since leaving Gallifrey.

Now if he needed something he actually had to go into a store and buy it! Well, he always liked a little shop in this incarnation. Or an alien marketplace. But that was besides the point. Buying things required money. And if you wanted to get money legitimately you needed a job. He sighed heavily. Getting a job wouldn't be that hard for him really. Pete had cornered him after dinner and practically begged him to come work at Torchwood. Which was unexpected seeing he was still sporting a black eye from earlier. (The Doctor did try and convince him to let him use the sonic to heal it to no avail…) His new persona as Johnathan Noble-Smith had a doctorate in quantum physics and astronomy attached to it so he could obtain a pretty lofty position within the organisation.

It was tempting. He almost accepted despite his distaste for the organisation. With his still mostly Time Lord brain he could change it for the better! Plus, he could probably acquire parts he needed for his new TARDIS.

But then he remembered the conversation he had with Rose and how she couldn't bear to work for Torchwood anymore. He felt with all his heart that he would be betraying her if he accepted this position.

Still, he wanted to build his new life around her and provide for her. He chuckled to himself. It was such a _human_ thing to wish for. But that was his lot now. Mostly. If he was going to be part-human, he was going to do his best to make the species proud.

He already had what most humans would want: a home and a loving family. Jackie still scared him slightly but he had really warmed up to her over time. He even missed her a little when she was gone (not that he would _ever_ admit it to her). He was starting to respect Pete even more. He could see himself becoming friends with him. Then there was Rose. He grinned to himself. He could write volumes of books based on his feelings towards his precious girl!

Finally, there was Tony. As soon as he returned from his shopping trip, the three-year-old ran up to him with a broad smile on his face that was identical to his big sisters and nearly knocked the Doctor over when he hugged his legs and he knew he had made an instant best friend! The toddler was slightly confused as to why he was wearing a leather coat when Rose explained he liked to wear suits now, but nonetheless he set himself upon the Doctor's knee and was completely enchanted with stories of travelling through time and space. Although many of them needed to be censored so as to not scar the little tyke for life and not have his mother slap him for putting Rose through such things.

With a satisfied sigh he closed his eyes and attempted sleep again. He was just starting to doze off when he thought he heard his name being called. He stilled his breathing and just listened.

Silence.

He rolled over and was about to just write it off as just his over active imagination playing tricks on him when he clearly heard a terrified voice call out again.

 _Doctor!_

At the sound of Rose's voice, he threw his covers off, grabbed the sonic off his bedside table and ran into the hallway to her room. His body moved on automatic, just as it always did when she was in trouble. He only stopped when he was standing just inside her door, sonic raised and ready to fend off any attacker. The room was empty save for Rose writhing around in her bed, whimpering and opening her mouth with near silent screams.

Immediately recognising that she was in the grips of a terrible nightmare, the Doctor surged forward again and nearly got knocked out by one of Rose's flailing arms. He reached out and swept away some of her hair that was stuck to her sweaty forehead.

"Rose. Rose! Wake up."

Another silent scream.

Acting on instinct, he gently placed his fingers on her temples and reached out with his mind. He barely got past her surface thoughts and was nearly consumed by the terror just radiating off of her. He tried sending her waves of calm, but this seemed to increase her fear even more.

' _Hush, Love. I'm here. It's alright. Please Rose. Please wake up.'_

' _No. Doctor? It can't be. No. No!'_

"NO!" Rose screamed and shoved the Doctor away with all her might. He was knocked off balance and he landed flat on his backside with an unmanly yelp. Rose stared at him for a long moment, and he stared back. Both confused and a bit hurt.

Then reality crashed back down on her. Rose leapt out bed and threw her arms around a thoroughly confused Doctor still sitting awkwardly on her bedroom floor.

"Oh my god! I'm sorry! Are you okay?"

"Am _I_ okay?!" He gasped still completely confused. Rose held him tighter and buried her face in his neck as she rubbed circles into his back. He shifted so he could properly hug her back. "Bloody hell, Rose! You're the one having the nightmare and you're comforting me?"

"Shouldn't have lashed out. I must've scared you half to death." She muttered. That was his Rose. Always putting the feelings of others before her own.

"You were scared half to death." He countered, "Scared of me. Why?" She pulled away from him and stood up. He stood up as well and watched as she paced the room a couple of times, wringing her hands and trying to smooth her sleep tousled hair, all the while not looking at him.

"You died." She finally said, sitting at the edge of her bed.

"Just in your dream." He replied as he sat down next to her and took her hand in his.

"No. You were dead." He could tell she was on the verge of tears.

"Look at me." He requested softly. She shook her head. He gently placed his fingers under her chin. "Please, Love?" She finally relented and he could see the raw pain in her eyes. "I'm right here. And I'm so alive. It was only a dream." He gently took her hands and gathered them on his chest so she could feel his single heart beating steadily in his chest.

"But it wasn't." She insisted looking away again and burying her face in her hands. "It was real."

"Rose, I think I would remember dying. It's happened to me enough times." He chuckled trying to lighten the mood.

"Not funny!" She glared at him.

"Sorry…" He looked properly ashamed of himself. "But how could it be real?" She opened her mouth and shut it again trying to gather her words and trying to separate the dream from the real memories.

"It's just too hard to talk about it." Rose grabbed his hand and brought it up to her face. "Can I just show you instead? I think it would be easier."

He stared at her for several seconds, completely blind sided by the absolute trust she put in him. He already entered her mind without permission, nearly sending her into a panic attack and now she was requesting the contact? He nodded wordlessly and brought his feet up under himself so he was sitting cross-legged on her bed and motioned for her to do the same. She faced him and he brought his hands up to frame her face.

"Ready?" She drew in a shaky breath and nodded. He gently pressed his fingers to her temples. "Focus on the memory. Anything you don't want me to see, just imagine a door and close it. I promise I won't look." She nodded again. But the Doctor didn't encounter any mental doors slamming into his face as the memory presented itself.

The Doctor saw everything through Rose's eyes.

He saw the Racnoss ship get shot down by tanks above London.

He saw Donna walking around looking bewildered at was going on. Wait. Wasn't she with him? Wasn't this her wedding day? What was she doing there?

He heard Rose asking frantically what the UNIT soldiers found and Donna's reply that the man she was looking for was apparently dead.

He saw the grim face of the Brigadier as Rose was brought into the Tower of London to identify his body before they cremated it.

He heard Rose's screams of anguish as she saw that it was indeed him laying there in the morgue – dead before he had the chance to regenerate – and poor Allister doing his best to console her.

The Doctor severed the connection immediately. He saw enough. He pulled Rose into his arms and just held her as she was once again overwrought by grief.

"Trickster's Brigade." He stated as Rose's tears subsided. She looked up at him confused. "They created a parallel world around Donna, changing something in her timestream. They somehow managed to create a world where I never met her. But when everything was put to rights she couldn't remember what happened. Well, except a stunningly beautiful blonde woman telling her to tell me the words 'Bad Wolf'." He tried a grin but she just buried her face into his shoulder. "You fixed it, didn't you?" He felt her shake her head.

"I basically had to convince Donna to kill herself. I killed her too. I killed her just to get back to you." The Doctor pulled back so he could look her in the eye.

"Rose listen: If you hadn't done that, everyone in multiple universes would have died. Everything in creation would just be… gone!"

"But I…" He stopped her words with a tender kiss and held her close.

"Sometimes, my love, the only choices we have are bad ones. But we still have to choose. You took up my mantle when I was…" He swallowed down the next word, unwilling to speak it aloud. "…and you did what you had to do for the sake of the multiverse."

"I missed you so much. I lost you too many times already."

"And you found me again. And this time I'm not leaving you behind."

They sat there holding each other for what seemed like hours, neither wanting to let go. Both giving and receiving the comfort they both desperately craved. Then, Rose yawned loudly and the Doctor chuckled.

"I think it's bedtime for the human." He invoked an old joke he was fond of telling long before he first regenerated on her. Finally, Rose cracked a smile and giggled herself, especially when he yawned as well.

"Make that bedtime for the humans."

"Oi. Still half Time Lord." She grinned at his outrage. He stood up to leave, but then she reached out and desperately grabbed his hand.

"Please don't go." He looked down at her. The raw fear still evident in her eyes. "I don't wanna be alone." He stood there for a long moment weighing his options. On the one hand he didn't want to be alone either, but on the other he was almost guaranteed a Jackie Tyler Slap™! Finally, he nodded and Rose got back under her covers and moved over so there was room for him.

"Jackie's gonna murder me…" he muttered as he climbed in after her. He lay on his back and let Rose rest her head on his chest, his arm around her shoulders and hers holding him around his middle. He closed his eyes, wholly content; Rose's steady breathing lulling him to sleep.


	11. The Next Morning

**What's this? I updated within a reasonable amount of time? It's a miracle!**

 **Spot the** **blatantly obvious... I mean** **sneaky!** _ **Broadchurch**_ **reference and you win! Dunno what you win… but yay for winning non existent awards! And if you haven't seen that show then go do so, it's one of David Tennant's greatest performances, if you ask me. It's on Netflix.**

 **As always, I don't own Doctor Who.**

* * *

When Rose woke up that morning, she was aware that she felt more rested than she had been for years. Ever since she arrived in this universe, sleep was a real struggle for her. Something about this place just felt off. She could never get comfortable here. The insomnia got so bad that she was dragged in front of Williams, Torchwood's chief medical officer: a tall sandy-haired fellow from a tiny town who looked even younger than Rose herself. After trying several things like relaxation techniques and hypnotherapy that did absolutely nothing to help, he prescribed her some powerful sleeping tablets. But those didn't even work for her.

Well, they did work. She was asleep within minutes after taking one, but she was plagued by vivid dreams most of which being some of the worst nightmares she ever had in her life. So she stopped taking them and just learned to deal with less sleep.

Then the Doctor started calling her from across the void and the nightmares all but disappeared. His presence in her mind was so overwhelmingly soothing. She wished he could stay there forever.

Then she arrived on that beach and saw him standing there looking like a ghost.

Then he said goodbye and left so much else unsaid.

She cried for days after that, but she refused to be beaten. The Doctor told her that they could never see each other again. She was determined to prove him wrong. He'd been wrong before (twelve _months_ instead of hours). Plus, if Mickey "The Idiot" Smith could find a way to cross between universes, surely she could too.

And she did.

And he helped her last night in a way she could never imagined. After he chased away her nightmares, she curled into his side and fell into a blissful sleep. Although he just held her through the night and never tried to make it more, she felt closer to him than ever before.

She rolled over and her hand touched the still warm sheets from where he had been sleeping. Her eyes blinked open and she frowned. She just missed him. Again! She flopped back onto her own pillows and huffed in frustration.

The sound of water running in her en suite caught her attention and moments later a slightly grumpy looking Doctor came shuffling out. His bleary eyes focused on her and the barest hint of a smile tugged at his mouth before he trudged back over to the bed and flopped down face-first, laying perpendicular to Rose, his feet dangling off the side of the bed.

"Humans are rubbish." He grumbled into the mattress before he flipped himself over and stared at the ceiling. "Really, _really_ rubbish! I mean, I've already slept a good seven hours and I _still_ feel tired." Rose nodded sympathetically and started to absently play with his sleep tousled hair.

"Now you know why I was always so grumpy when you woke me too early." She replied dryly, brushing his fringe out of his eyes.

"And in that time I had nothing to drink, and yet I _still_ have to dash to the loo." He continued, seemingly ignoring Rose's comment. He then crinkled his nose in disgust. "A thing I've had to do with alarming frequency lately. Seventy percent water? Feels like more than that!" He raked a hand down his face and neck. "And now I have to shave. Again!"

Rose giggled at that. Confidentially she liked the somewhat scruffy look. She ran her fingers down his cheek and her smooth skin got caught in the stubble and she winced slightly. Too scratchy. But his sideburns were nice and soft so…

"Why don't you just grow a beard?" She asked casually, smiling as he started to lean into her touch. "Less maintenance."

He just looked up and glared at her.

"And look like that scruffy DI bloke on the telly that Jackie was just drooling over last night?" He shuddered and she giggled. "Don't think so. 'Sides, that's kinda a non-issue anyway, shaving. Had to do that all the time anyways."

"Yeah, cut yourself and I get a twenty-minute lecture about life forms you're cleverer than!"

He smiled genuinely at that as he reached up and took her hand in his.

"Anyway…" he sighed as his smile faded substantially and his eyes dropped to where he rested their hands on his chest. "I need to apologise for something."

Rose blinked in confusion.

"Last night you were having a nightmare and I…"

"There's nothing to apologise for! You helped me so, so much." She interrupted squeezing his hand. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head vigorously.

"No, I do. It's no great secret between us that I'm telepathic. And there are many, many rules that a telepath must obey. Last night I... I broke one of the major ones. _The_ major one, really. I, uh, I entered your mind without permission. I made your nightmare worse!" He felt her hand slip out of his, and for one agonizing moment, he thought she was going to run away from him and never want to be near him again. Thought that the only reason she asked him to stay last night was out of sheer pity for him. Then he felt her shift on the mattress and felt her head on his shoulder.

"You were only trying to protect me."

"Rose I…"

"You apologise one more time, and I swear, Doctor… you're gonna regret it."

He shut his mouth with an audible click of teeth. Tyler women were scary when they wanted to be.

"'Sides…" Rose began again snuggling even closer to him. "I kinda like you in my head."

"Y-you do?" She nodded.

"Yeah. It's peaceful."

He snorted.

"Peaceful?!"

"Yeah."

"My mind is the least peaceful place ever."

"'Not quite as dark and scary in here as you thought'." She quoted him.

"I was joking." He huffed. "Look, if you saw the tiniest portion of my memories, you'd want nothing to do with me!"

"But I know you…" a series of almost musical sounds fell from Rose's lips, so quietly that they would've gone unheard if it wasn't for his extremely keen hearing.

"What did I tell you about saying _that_ out loud?"

"But that's who you are. And it's beautiful. You showed me the most beautiful things in the universe…"

"And the most horrible…"

"You showed me how to survive that, how life still continues in spite of it!" She countered. "And it just made me fall in love with you even more."

"Rose, if you knew how dark I am inside..." He shook his head as he trailed off. "But you do make me better. You always did." He turned so he could kiss her forehead, but she moved so he would land on her lips instead. Then she pushed him away unexpectedly with a grimace.

"What?"

Her grimace turned into a smirk.

"I think you inherited another unpleasant human trait?"

"What!?"

"Morning breath." She dramatically waved her hand over her nose.

"What!?" He exhaled into his palm and sniffed his own breath and he paled. Then a smirk spread over his mouth as something occurred to him. "You continued to kiss Mickey after he ate all those gherkins, pickled eggs and onions, did you not?"

"After I made him brush his teeth!" Rose squeaked as the Doctor crossed the distance between them again, bringing his mouth down to hers.

"You let him while he was eating that frankly horrible cheese sandwich."

"Only to make you jealous!" She turned her head and was trying desperately to hold her breath. His breath really did stink!

"That you did…" he cupped her cheek and turned her head back and brushed his nose against hers as he inhaled. "Plus, you don't smell like a field of… well… _roses_ either."

Her mouth dropped open in shock.

"Rude!"

"You love it. Human bodies may be rubbish but it won't stop me!" He finally succeeded in kissing her. He didn't make it past a dry press of lips before she pushed him away again.

"Stop it!" She giggled.

"Make me…" he waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Oh, I'll make you alright!" Boomed a voice from the doorway and they were both keenly aware of just how they were both positioned and they sprang away from each other.

"Mornin' Jackie."

"Hi mum." They said in unison.

Jackie Tyler just glared at them.

* * *

 **Heheheh :)**

 **I'm still utterly fangirling over the fact that I met both Alex Kingston and John Barrowman earlier this month at FanExpo Canada, the latter of which I got a selfie with! Now, I'm not usually one for selfies… but if you get an opportunity to take one with John freakin' Barrowman you do just that! And Alex wrote 'spoilers' on her autograph!**

 ***INSERT FANGIRL SCREAM HERE***


	12. Run!

**I meant to write more** _ **Rewind**_ **… but this happened instead.**

 **This chapter was really hard for me to start, but once I got going it practically wrote itself. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

He had never felt so humiliated in his incredibly long life. How the Doctor made it out of Rose's bedroom alive was completely beyond him. Jackie had really let into him, and now he truly believed that she had once dated a sailor if the language that was coming out of her mouth was any indication.

His cheek still stung from the slap she had given him! He wasn't even allowed to plead his case! Not that it seemed that Jackie would've even listened to him anyway. As far as she was concerned, no matter what species he was he was just a man, and therefore always wrong no matter what.

He did nothing wrong and he was still punished. It just wasn't fair! Human women were just so confusing.

He stomped over to his wardrobe and went straight to the back of it to where the TARDIS coral was hidden in the small makeshift growth tank he had cobbled together the day before. He wished it was finished growing already. He couldn't stand to be in this house right now. Or even this planet for that matter. But where would he even go? His short journey into the city yesterday just went to prove how different this London was to the one he knew. Plus, he had no money and didn't know anyone else aside those he met during his first journey into this universe.

But the Doctor was ignoring all those thoughts as he had grabbed a small suitcase and started to shove some of his new clothes inside. He was completely used to not knowing where he was going and hence why he never planned things in advance. All he knew is that he had to get out of there. Now.

There was a knock on his door, but he ignored it. Not a single person in this godforsaken universe had anything to say to him! The doorknob began to turn, but he grabbed the sonic and made sure the door was locked up tight.

"Doctor. Please let me in." Rose's voice cut right through him and suddenly the consequences of what he was about to do suddenly became clear. If he ran now, he would be abandoning her! And that was the one thing he promised himself he would _never_ do again. If he ran now it would just break her heart, and he would be thrown out of her life for good. A stone felt like it had taken up residence in his gut. What was he doing? Why did he always just run away? Why was he such a stupid coward?

With a shaking hand, he aimed the sonic at the door and unlocked it and she came rushing in, but stopped short when she realised he'd been packing.

"Doctor…" she started.

"I can't do this…" The Doctor sighed, staring resolutely at the floor, too ashamed to look at her.

"Well, that didn't take long." She grumbled, and before she realised it she was shouting. "Only two days! That has to be some kind of record! I should've known you'd pull a runner as soon as things get 'too domestic.' You never change! I suppose I should've expected it! And here I thought you finally…"

"That's not what I meant!" He shouted back hearing her voice the very same dark thoughts he had running through his head. He looked up in time to see her recoil. "That's not what I meant." He repeated gesturing to the bag he'd thrown on top of his bed, his voice nearly choked out with emotion.

"Oh." It dawned on her that they were having two very different conversations.

"I was going to run." He admitted, turning away to stare out the window behind him. "I was going to run away. Without you. But… I just…"

Rose didn't say anything in response. His whole body stiffened as she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle and just held him. He had the urge to pull her off of him as he didn't feel like being comforted or forgiven.

"I'm sorry for snapping, Doctor." She murmured.

"Don't be. Everything you said was true." His voice was now flat and emotionless.

She let go of him and he began to hear her rustling through the bag he'd hastily packed and through his wardrobe. His curiosity eventually got the better of him, and he turned around. She held out some clothes for him: A T-shirt and a pair of shorts.

"What are you…?" He was completely confused as she placed the clothing in his hands.

"Just put them on and meet me by the front door. I've got an idea you might like." She instructed before she swiftly left the room. He stared at the clothes for a moment before he complied. He didn't actually remember purchasing this particular outfit – it looked like something a jogger would wear!

He cracked a smile figuring out her plan as he quickly got changed. He also donned his new favourite trainers and made his way to the front door, thankfully not encountering anyone else on his way. He didn't want round two with Jackie and who knows what she had told Pete about what happened that morning.

He didn't even see Rose when he got to the door, and decided to just wait for her. She always did tend to take a long time to get ready for anything. Then the door opened a crack, and before he could even react, a hand wrapped around his.

"Run!"

He found himself being pulled outside and suddenly he was running hand-in-hand with Rose Tyler and he couldn't help but laugh.

"That's my line!" He protested half-heartedly. She just turned and smiled at him without breaking her stride.

"Seemed appropriate!"

The both laughed. And boy did it feel good.

They ran across the front of the house towards a large field, and Rose only slowed when they got to a big tree. She let go of his hand and pulled out a couple water bottles, handing one to him. He took it and gratefully took a few large sips and he had barely enough time to put the cap back on before he realised Rose was off running again and he took off after her.

His heart was pounding and his muscles were slightly protesting as this was the first time he had run like this since becoming human, but it just felt so right!

Rose was only a few paces in front of him, and the Doctor could've easily overtaken her, but he hung back. Aside from the brilliant view he was getting from her – those pink shorts were quite flattering, but that was most likely just his hormones talking – he rather liked her taking the lead. She was the one with the most experience with this world, and he was content to let her show him around. During their run, just enjoyed himself allowing all the angst over what happened that morning with Jackie to just wash away.

After about twenty minutes they found themselves on a main road and Rose slowed to a walk and took his hand again.

"Where are we going?" He asked eagerly looking around at the shops that were just opening for business.

"You'll see!" She grinned at him. They turned a corner and Rose led him to a café with a black and red sign with a picture of a kraken on it and the Doctor realised it was this universes version of Starbucks. She instructed him to sit while she went to the counter to give their order and returned to him with two very large paper cups and a plate of pastries.

"Since we ran out without having breakfast." She explained as she sat down and handed him one of the cups, a hot drink that he now realised was topped with whipped cream. He took a careful sip and Rose giggled when he ended up with a tiny dollop of whipped cream on the tip of his nose. He swirled the drink around his tongue for a moment before swallowing to try and analyse the flavour. It was some sort of coffee, but it was really chocolatey and just a hint of something fruity. A fruit he loved but one that he could never imagine in coffee. It was absolutely delicious.

"Is that…?"

Rose nodded.

"Chocolate banana latte! Thought you'd like it." She beamed at him as he took another greedy gulp. "I took up running shortly after I arrived here. You got me so used to it I found I just needed to get up and do it as often as possible. Even when I worked for Torchwood, it was mostly boring desk work and I hate being locked up in that house for so long."

"Yeah, I kept you in tip-top shape, didn't I? A steady regimen of running and junk food. Brilliant!" The Doctor chuckled as he picked up one of the pastries. A strawberry cheese Danish by the look of it. He took a large bite and hummed appreciatively.

"The running cancels out the junk food so when I discovered this place, I realised it was a great place to go when mum's being particularly difficult." She picked at her pastry.

"Like this mornin'." He grumbled around his food, his unhappiness over what occurred that morning coming back slightly. She nodded.

"I think she was more upset that the door was open. Doesn't want Tony seein' that."

"Well, she didn't have to take it out on me like that! Not like we were even _doing_ anything anyway! I mean, what's she gonna do after we get married and…"

Rose's cup slipped from her fingers and the Doctor yelped when the hot coffee hit his exposed leg.

"What did you just say?" Her words were a mere shaky whisper and he suddenly realised his gaffe.

"Just… just forget I said anything." He stammered reaching for her dropped cup, but she grabbed his wrist and made him look at her.

"Y-you… you want to marry me?" She was completely gobsmacked. He took a few steadying breaths before he continued speaking feeling like the answer to her question needed to be given carefully.

"Rose, I love you more than you can possibly imagine. After the war, I was so… broken. And when you came into my life you took the pieces of my shattered life and put them back together better than they were before. When I lost you at Canary Wharf… a piece of me died that day, and I swore that I would never _ever_ love another again as I love you. Now he's given this second chance and…" He took her hand and squeezed it gently. "I was telling you the truth yesterday when I said that I was willing to start a new life with you, and… well… Rose I want _everything_ with you – silly Earth customs and all! I'm willing to even endure a mortgage with you if that makes you happy and have a house with all it's carpets and doors and our two and a half kids and a dog – _not a cat_ … I draw the line there – if it means I have _you_. And… and… Rose… why are you crying?"

Rose practically leapt over the table, knocking her chair and his coffee over in the process, and just kissed him.

* * *

 **I know, I know… me and my cliffhangers.**


	13. The Backwards Approach

**Fluff ahoy! Again, this chapter kind of just wrote itself, although I did cut a strange part in the middle that really made no kind of sense.**

* * *

The Doctor just sat there stunned. There he was, sitting in the middle of a coffee shop, Rose in his lap and she was pretty much snogging his brains out. An apt metaphor, really, as in that very moment his mind had gone completely blank. Although, he was vaguely aware of someone cheering nearby.

Sure, his mind was only blank for exactly 5.42 seconds – his time sense calculated that figure automatically – but to a Time Lord, that was an _eternity_. His human biology, however, was busy responding to having Rose in his lap, and he had begun to automatically kiss her back. During the following, two seconds his Time Lord brain began re-tracing the events to led to having Rose in his lap with her mouth fused to his and the realisation of what caused this (rather lovely, if he were to be honest) turn of events made his eyebrows shoot even higher towards his hairline.

He pretty much just asked Rose Tyler to marry him.

Her response was quite obviously YES!

He gentled her out of the kiss and just gazed into her eyes for a good long moment. They were just in their own bubble, and for that span of time nothing existed beyond it. It was just them, smiling at each other and giggling madly.

"This isn't exactly how I planned to ask you." The Doctor sighed.

"You actually had a _plan_?" Rose snorted.

"Well…" He sniffed. "It was sort of a… thing in progress?"

"A thing?"

"Oi! Respect the thing!" He tickled her ribs causing her to shriek and wriggle in his grasp.

"Uh… 'scuse me." They both looked up, laughing unapologetically to the barista standing over them with a stern look on her face. "D'ya mind? This is kinda a public place."

"I think you mean 'this _is_ a public place'," the Doctor corrected inciting an even sterner look from the barista. Then suddenly he realised what being in a public place meant, "so, yeah… sorry 'bout that. But we, just sorta, well, we just got y'know… engaged and… erm… ooh that's a scary thought." Rose's face fell. He seemed so earnest in his impromptu proposal, but if he was trying to back out…

"Yeah, we were reunited just two days ago and now we're taking this – this absolutely massive step forward!" She bit her lip as the reality of their situation just sank in, and the thought of him backing out didn't really upset her anymore. "Yeah… this _is_ scary."

"No… well… I mean… yes. I suppose you're right. What I meant was: if I thought Jackie was gonna murder me this morning, just wait till she hears about _this!_ " The Doctor shuddered while Rose just laughed nervously as she thought about what her mum would say about it.

* * *

The Doctor and Rose, having decided to take the long route home instead of hiring a cab, walked in unusual silence. Their joined hands swung loosely between them as they walked, and they found they couldn't hold each other's gaze.

They eventually found themselves in the field they ran through earlier. Since it was a part of the Tyler Estate, there weren't any other people milling about. A zeppelin passed overhead and the Doctor watched it absently still finding them slightly unnerving. He didn't even know he had stopped walking until he felt a pull on his hand.

Rose, his fiancée – something he had dreamed to call her, but now the reality of it was starting to terrify him – called to him softly. He looked over at her and found she looked as conflicted as he felt. Part of his mind, the part that was screaming at him earlier that morning and he almost obeyed it, told him to just turn the other way and run. But the other part, the human part told him to stay. Told him that he needed to stand by this woman he loved so much. He listened to the latter.

"C'mere." He said softly, pulling gently at her hand. There was one simple thing he needed right now, and she looked like she desperately needed it too. He dropped her hand and opened his arms, and Rose stepped willingly into them. Something felt like it loosened in his chest when she wrapped her arms around his middle and buried her head into the crook of his neck. It was amazing how just a simple hug could help one feel better. He folded his arms around her and they just held each other.

"What're we going to do?" She murmured listening to just how fast his heart was beating. He slowly let out a long breath.

"I dunno."

She pulled away so she could look him properly in the eyes.

"I mean… I want this," she pointed between the two of them. "I want you an' me… together. I promised you forever… an' I truly mean it… but…"

"You're not ready."

"Are you?" She watched his Adam's apple bob in his throat as he swallowed hard.

"Yes." He said softly as he reached for her hand and leaned down to kiss her knuckles softly. "Rose, would you like to go out with me for dinner tonight? I think that's a good place to properly start." Rose smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I'd love to."

She hugged his arm as they resumed walking towards the mansion.

"We're always doin' this, aren't we?" She asked through a small laugh.

"Doin' what?"

"Things backwards. I mean, first you ask me to marry you, and now you're asking me out on our first date."

"Nature of our lives I suppose. First things first, but not necessarily in that order. Never imagined I could do that without time travel."

"You're just that good."

"Yeah, I am."

"Still a giant ego, though." She muttered under her breath.

"Oi!" They both just laughed.

* * *

When they finally made it back to the mansion, the Doctor and Rose both were successful in avoiding Jackie on their way up to their rooms to get themselves properly ready for the day. Neither one of them were prepared to face her just yet. They had yet to come up with a plan on how they were going to announce their engagement.

The Doctor was so lost in thought after he stepped out of the shower. He was absently going through his shirts deciding on what he should wear when his door opened.

"Doctor?" He whirled around at the sound of Jackie's voice, eternally grateful he had the presence of mind to at least have wrapped a towel around himself.

"Sweet baby Rassilon, Jackie! Seriously, I thought there was a human custom known as KNOCKING!" He had to resist the urge to shove his hand through his hair as he feared losing his towel and stood as tall and proud as he could.

"I did." She replied evenly. "I just wanted to ask you about _this_." She handed him a small electronic tablet that was years ahead of it's time, at least in his original universe (technological development seemed to be faster here). He reached out and took it, careful to keep one hand on the one piece of fabric dividing him from his dignity. His mouth suddenly went dry as he saw a photo of him and Rose in Starbucks in a somewhat compromising pose with a headline that read 'New Boy Toy for Vitex Heiress?' underneath. He should have known the paparazzi were hanging about, and boy did they work fast.

"Jackie… look… don't get mad at Rose for this one. And please don't kill me, but…" He closed his mouth with a click.

"But?" Jackie's hands were on her hips and her foot was tapping incessantly.

"We were waiting for the right time to tell you…"

"You're not both disappearing on me again, are you?" Jackie sounded more panicked than angry as she suddenly noticed his suitcase still sitting on the bed. He shook his head.

"No, erm… I…"

"Oh, just spit it out, will you? You didn't get her pregnant, did you?"

"JACKIE!"

"Well, I dunno. You're an alien. Could work differently for you!"

"No it doesn't!" He shouted before cringing. This really wasn't something he wanted to talk about in his current state of dress – or at all with her.

"So she is!"

"Jackie, I tried tellin' you earlier: that's not what was happening this morning! What happened this morning in her room and in the coffee shop… two different things!"

"Go on then."

The Doctor took a steadying breath.

"Last night, she had a nightmare and asked me to stay. She was too afraid to sleep alone. That's all we did. Sleep. The door was open cause I ran in here in a panic and never thought about closing it. So, sorry."

"And the coffee shop?"

"It wasn't completely intentional… but… I might've…"

"Might have what? Doctor?"

"Proposed."

The word just hung in the air for a moment. The Doctor's heart beat uncomfortably fast in his chest as he awaited Jackie's reaction, and the fear of what Rose would say knowing he just blurted it out to her mother. Jackie's face was unreadable for a long moment. Then the next thing he knew, he had the number one most awkward encounter with her to date.

Jackie had flung her arms around his neck and held him tight and it was all the Doctor could do to keep his towel from slipping.

"Jackie… do you mind if I get dressed first?"

* * *

The Doctor felt stiflingly hot walking around the house in his leather jacket, but he felt like he needed the extra layers around Jackie now. It wasn't as heavy as the one his previous self wore and a completely different style – a black motorcycle jacket that was more fitted and closed up with a zipper instead of his bulky World War II style one – but he now had a human biology and with it came its rubbish ability to regulate temperature.

He sat in the lounge with Jackie sipping absently at the tea she brought him. She had already asked Rose to look after Tony a while so she could have a chat with the Doctor. Rose was reluctant to leave them alone seeing as she had no idea of what they needed to talk about without her, until the Doctor just leaned in and whispered "she knows" in her ear. She had gaped at him, thinking they had agreed they would've spoken to Jackie together about this. "She kinda made me." He clarified and Rose nodded and went to look for her little brother.

"Are you absolutely sure about this, sweetheart?" Jackie asked him for what had to be the millionth time. "Don'tcha think you two need to take some time to work this out? I mean, you spent all these years apart, and you both have changed."

"My feelings for her haven't." He said simply, and she nodded.

"Was the same with me an' Pete."

"So you can understand where I'm comin' from!" He almost shouted.

"Yeah, I suppose. But Pete… he was already stable. You don't even have a job."

"I know. I've been thinking about what to do about that. Pete did offer me a job at Torchwood, but seeing how Rose feels about that place I can't accept. I was thinking of perhaps teaching somewhere."

"That's a start, I guess. You've told Rose?" He shook his head.

"No, I wanna surprise her once I get a position."

"Well, it's a start. And there's something else I want ya to have." Jackie sighed as she drained the rest of her tea and walked over to a desk at the side of the room. The Doctor watched as she took a pen and something else out of the drawer and she started to write. Her back was towards him so he couldn't see what she was writing. "It's Noble-Smith… right? Your name?"

"Yeah…" The Doctor replied, now completely confused as to what she was on about now.

"Weird callin' you that, but I have to put it 'ere…" Then she stopped writing, placed the pen back on the table and he heard the distinct sound of paper being torn. She turned towards him and handed him the paper.

He took his glasses out of his pocket and placed them on his face as he studied the paper. It was a cheque. He was never good with money, but he was quite certain the amount she had written down was incredibly large.

"Jackie, I…"

"Oh button it, you plum. Consider it a gift, an investment to your future as my son-in-law."

In an rare move, the Doctor stood and hugged Jackie Tyler.

"Thank you." He sighed, kissing the top of her head.

"Just don't muck it up or I will kill ya!"

"Yes ma'am."


	14. Reconsidering The Important Things

**It appears that my muse for this story is back!**

 **I will get back to** _ **Rewind**_ **eventually, but I'm finding it hard to focus on two stories at the same time. To that end, I may try to finish this one first (I feel it's about 2/3 complete) before I continue the other… even though I left that one on an evil cliff hanger.**

 **Anyways, enjoy. As always, I don't own Doctor Who.**

* * *

Tony was just a bundle of seemingly unlimited energy that morning. He shoved several toy trucks into his big sister's hands trying to get her to play with him, thrilled that she was around him instead of off working. Rose had sat cross-legged beside the low table in Tony's bedroom and only half-heartedly pushed one of the trucks across the small surface that wasn't covered in construction paper and crayons.

She desperately wanted to know how the Doctor was getting on with her mum at that moment, idly wondering if she should be arranging his funeral. Jackie had never wanted to speak to him in private like this before.

"You okay, Rosie?" She looked over at her little brother who was staring back at her. Concern was clearly evident on the child's face. Tony was such a thoughtful boy, always looking out for the welfare of others, even though he was far too young to understand the complexities of adult life. He was so much like his big sister in that regard. Rose shot him a small smile and opened her arms to him and Tony ran up and gave her the tightest hug his tiny three-year-old arms could muster.

"I am now." Rose smiled, rubbing her brothers back. And in that moment, she truly was.

"Good!" Tony exclaimed before releasing her, running off and pretending to be a zeppelin. Rose laughed heartily at the sight, even though it was a stark reminder of how this universe was so different. At one point in time, she showed him her impression of an airplane and the boy just stared at her confused as he had never seen an airplane before. So, zeppelins it was! And she was oddly okay with that as long as she could see her little brother grow up.

If someone asked her two days ago where she wanted to be, she would've said she wanted to be back in her home universe travelling through time and space with the insane Time Lord she loved so much.

But now?

Now she had everything she could ever wish for! She had her family and she had the Doctor, and hopefully in a year or so all of time and space as well.

It was everything the Time Lord wanted her to have to begin with. Words he had said long ago to her in a holographic message rose unbidden in her mind occasionally ever since she found herself in this universe:

' _If you want to remember me, then you can do one thing. That's all, one thing. Have a good life. Do that for me, Rose. Have a fantastic life.'_

Those words spoken in that Northern accent she so dearly missed used to taunt her. How could she have a fantastic life when she was so far away from everything she ever knew? How could she do that without _him_?

Her hand rose to the pendant around her neck – a gift from the original Doctor – and she smiled. He did everything he could to ensure they would have that fantastic life, and she would be forever grateful.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear the soft knock on the door. But she certainly heard Tony's loud squeal as he shouted "Docta!" as he ran past her.

"My little Tony!"

Rose couldn't help but smile (but inwardly groaned at the really bad pun and hoped that nickname wouldn't stick) as she watched the Doctor scoop Tony up and balance the boy on his hip. Tony's shrill laughter filled the air as the Doctor tickled his ribs.

Rose knew the Doctor had been both a father and a grandfather before, and it really showed by the way he interacted with her little brother, and all the other children they encountered during their travels.

' _I wonder if he was bein' serious about us havin' those 2.5 kids?'_

She instantly sobered at that thought. Growing up, she never imagined herself as a mother. Maybe it was because she didn't want to bring up a child on the Estate like she had been (although her mum did her very best, she could tell it was incredibly difficult for her especially on her own). She never thought Mickey was responsible enough to have a kid, not to mention how horrible Jimmy Stone was.

She almost felt physically sick thinking about Jimmy even after all these years, so she quickly banished those memories almost as fast as they surfaced.

Rose would always scoff when other mothers would tell her emphatically "you'll change your mind about having children one day." Now she was actually sitting there considering it! Considering it with a bloke whose exact words were "I don't do families." And, at the time, she was absolutely certain he meant it. Then over time he pretty much became a member of her family whether he intended to or not!

And what if they got the TARDIS up and running again – providing he was totally serious about having children with her. Would that life be suitable for a child with all the danger they invariably found themselves in? They didn't even know what really lay beyond planet Earth in this universe! Even Earth's past would be completely different! Plus, any children they would have would be a quarter Gallifreyan. Would they live to be hundreds of years old? Would they be capable of regenerating? Would they be dissected by human doctors curious as to why the child had two hearts and telepathic abilities?

"You alright there, love?" The Doctor's voice jarred her out of her extremely panicked thoughts.

"What?" She managed suddenly feeling dizzy.

"I asked if you're okay? You look like you're about to start hyperventilating!"

"I do?" Well, that explained the dizziness.

The Doctor set Tony back down, telling him to go play and (after pinky swearing to play zeppelins with him later) walked over and sat with Rose.

"Seriously, what's goin' on?" The Doctor tried again his eyes quickly scanning her, looking for anything that would cause her to be unwell.

"Shouldn't I be askin' you that?" She smirked.

"Rose." His eyes locked with hers. He was being dead serious, and almost seemed to be on the verge of a panic attack himself.

"Nah, it's nothin'. I'm fine." She attempted to wave him off, but all she accomplished was him quirking an unbelieving eyebrow at her. "I was just thinkin'…"

"A dangerous pastime." He sing-songed absently, then shook his head, causing Rose to laugh. "Sorry. _Beauty and the Beast_ won't help right now… but seriously, what were you thinkin' about so strongly you're almost panicking?" He prodded gently after she trailed off.

"I was just worryin' about what was goin' on between you and mum. I was wondering if I shouldn't be arranging your funeral." She half lied, a slightly nervous laugh bubbling out of her.

"Well, don't. Both the worrying and the funeral arranging. Bit morbid, that is. I've still got several decades to go!" He puffed out his chest proudly while cracking a smile. "Jackie, uh… well. Well, she approves! Quite the shocker to me. I always thought she hated me."

"That why she greeted you with a kiss that one time?"

"Eugh, don't remind me." He shuddered.

"So she's totally fine with our… engagement?" Rose was genuinely gobsmacked, but she genuinely smiled at him nonetheless. She also mentally kicked herself for tripping over that last word.

"Yup! Isn't it fantastic?" She nodded emphatically. "Brilliant! Molto bene!" He crowed bundling Rose into a brief hug. "I am, however going to need your help with something."

"Well, if it's keepin' mum from plannin' our entire weddin' down to the last detail… I don't know how much help I'll be. She get's a bit crazy when it comes to this sort of thing. Wouldn't be surprised if she hadn't planned it all already…"

All colour drained from the Doctor's face.

The most important day of his life planned out by Jackie Tyler? He'd rather face a Sontaran firing squad!

"Oh my god, your face!" Rose was now laughing so hard it was difficult to get words out properly. "I'm only joking."

"You hope." He finally managed. " _Any_ ways, I do seriously need your help with this."

"Sure, what is it?"

"What _exactly_ do I do with this?" He handed her the cheque Jackie wrote out for him. Her eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when she read the amount.


End file.
